Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, Lucinda Williams among artists to perform the 1975 masterpiece and other selections from the Dylan songbook at Cain’s Ballroom on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.
TULSA, Okla. (Dec. 11, 2024) — In celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Bob Dylan’s classic album Blood on the Tracks, the Bob Dylan Center will present Shelter From The Storm: a major multi-artist concert featuring an exciting array of musicians for whom Dylan and his 1975 song cycle remain touchstones of inspiration and wonderment. This one-night-only event will take place on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa’s 100-year-old honky-tonk where Dylan himself has performed.
With acclaimed actor Luke Wilson serving as emcee, the concert will highlight all of the songs on “Blood on the Tracks,” including “Tangled Up in Blue,” “Simple Twist of Fate” and “Shelter from the Storm,” as well as a wide assortment of other Dylan songs from across his expansive discography, all performed by a house band and a rotating cast of featured performers.
Confirmed participants include (in alphabetical order): Nashville-born, New York-based country singer-songwriter Laura Cantrell; Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member and curator of the Bob Dylan Center’s Perspective Jukebox Experience Elvis Costello; singer-songwriter Martin Courtney of indie-rock band Real Estate; singer-songwriter Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs; three-term U.S. Poet Laureate and Bob Dylan Center Artist-in-Residence Joy Harjo; singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock; renowned Atlanta-based visual artist and musician Lonnie Holley; award-winning jazz vocalist and pianist Diana Krall; Minnesota-based folk singer-songwriter Paul Metsa; Kansas City–based singer-songwriter Kevin Morby; singer-songwriter Amy Ray of folk-rock duo Indigo Girls; award-winning actor Michael Shannon accompanied by indie-rock musician Jason Narducy; singer-songwriter Emma Swift; singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten; and singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams.
Setting the evening’s musical tone will be a house band of accomplished musicians including (in alphabetical order): indie-rock band Chatham County Line (Greg Readling, John Teer, Dave Wilson); solo artists and in-demand session musicians and producers Brad Cook and Phil Cook; and Ben Folds Five drummer Darren Jessee, all based in Raleigh, N.C. Event co-curator Doug Keith will round out the house band and serve as music director.
Additionally, three musicians who played with Dylan on “Blood on the Tracks” will perform: keyboardist Gregg Inhofer, guitarist Kevin Odegard and bassist Billy Peterson. Odegard will play the same acoustic guitar he played on the recording session with Dylan. In 2019, Odegard donated the Martin guitar to the Bob Dylan Center, where it has been on display since the center’s grand opening in 2022.
“Blood on the Tracks is undisputably one of Dylan’s greatest albums and a landmark in rock and roll history,” says Steven Jenkins, director of the Bob Dylan Center. “We are thrilled to celebrate its enduring influence on generations of musicians, singers and songwriters by gathering together this astonishing group of artists to interpret the album’s ten songs in a fresh context.”
“It’s been a dream come true to co-curate this celebration of Blood on the Tracks with the amazing team at the Bob Dylan Center,” says music director Doug Keith. “I’m so excited to be a part of bringing some of my favorite artists to Tulsa to bring this classic album to life. It’s going to be an unbelievable show!”
“I am deeply humbled to be able to perform with such an influential group of artists honoring one of the greatest songwriters of all time,” says featured artist Sharon Van Etten. “Bob Dylan’s work still reveals itself to me in ways that continue to grow and inspire.”
“I’m so honored to be part of this tribute to one of America’s greatest creators,” says featured artist Lonnie Holley. “There’s so much that he’s sung about that is so relevant to our lives, today and always.”
Tickets go on sale to Bob Dylan Center members on Thursday, Dec. 12 and to the general public on Friday, Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. CT. For complete ticket information, visit bobdylancenter.com.
Shelter from the Storm is generously supported by Presenting Sponsors Vincent LoVoi and Beatriz Pérez with additional support from Platinum Circle Sponsor Harper House Foundation.
For more information about the event, to become a member and to keep up to date on ticket releases visit bobdylancenter.com and subscribe to the newsletter.
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About Blood on the Tracks
Bob Dylan’s fifteenth studio album was released on January 20, 1975. Dylan developed the ten characteristically complex and poetic—and seemingly also deeply personal—songs, including “You’re A Big Girl Now,” “Idiot Wind” and “Buckets of Rain,” over a period of months following his 1974 tour with The Band. The evolution of these songs can be traced in the so-called Blood Notebooks, which Dylan carried around and filled with handwritten lyrics and notes during this extraordinary burst of creativity, and on display at the Bob Dylan Center.
Upon its release, Blood on the Tracks reached number one on the Billboard 200 sales chart and remains one of Dylan’s best-selling and also most critically acclaimed albums, ranked number 9 in Rolling Stone’s 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and number 5 on Pitchfork’s list of the Top 100 Albums of the 1970s. In 2015, Blood on the Tracks was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
About the Bob Dylan Center
The Bob Dylan Center inspires and celebrates fearless creativity by exploring the music and artistry of the Nobel Prize–winning singer-songwriter as a catalyst for personal expression and cultural change.
As the primary public venue for the Bob Dylan Archive® collection, the center curates and exhibits a priceless collection of more than 100,000 items spanning Dylan’s career, including handwritten manuscripts, notebooks and correspondence; films, videos, photographs and artwork; memorabilia and ephemera; personal documents and effects; unreleased studio and concert recordings; musical instruments and many other elements. The center presents a full roster of public programs including concerts, film screenings and author talks. Since opening in May 2022, the Bob Dylan Center has welcomed visitors from all 50 states and some 40 countries. The center has garnered numerous design awards and accolades from publications including the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Variety, Uncut and Mojo.
