Bob Dylan & Willie Nelson - 2009 Baseball Stadium Tour Dates w/ John Mellencamp (includes Lakewood, NJ)

Bob Dylan has just announced an ambitious line-up for this year’s summer concert tour. Along with fellow troubadour Willie Nelson, this summer The Bob Dylan Show will also feature John Mellencamp, marking just the second time in the past 24 years that these three performers have shared the concert stage.

That tour comes to Lakewood, NJ’s FirstEnergy Park on Thursday, July 23rd. Tickets are on presale Monday, April 27th. General sale begins Saturday, May 2nd at noon.

The NJ show’s venue, like most others on the tour, is a minor league baseball stadium (home to the Lakewood BlueClaws, Single-A affiliate of the Phillies). It’s currently the closest stop to NYC. Bob and Willie did something similar in 2005. That year they hit Yogi Berra Stadium in Montclair.

Willie Nelson‘s current (non-Bob) tour is hitting more traditional music venues like The State Theater in New Brunswick where he played on Saturday (4/18). Among those in attendance at that show was Matthew Houck aka Phoshphoresent who recently released a Willie Nelson album of his own. Phosphorescent‘s next NYC show will be in Prospect Park.

Bob Dylan‘s new record, Together Through Life, comes out April 28th on Columbia Records. “I Feel a Change Comin On,” off that record, is streaming now on Dylan’s webpage. Bob is “on Twitter” too.

Also online is a sub-site for new song “Beyond Here Lies Nothin'” (which includes that track streaming)..

Mash your own message and lyrics along with Bob’s to create a unique lyrical portrait video. You can then upload your video message to the community gallery and share it with others. This is the first time the lyrics from a Bob Dylan song have been released prior to the record, so make sure to check out and see them in action along with the music, only at www.beyondhereliesnothin.com.

On his website, Dylan talked with writer Bill Flanagan about songs on the new disc…

Flanagan: “Life Is Hard” comes from a tradition that got pretty much wiped out by the popularity of swing and blues and rock n roll. I remember Leon Redbone said once that the big break in 20th century music was not in the 50’s when rock came in; it was when swing and jazz knocked off parlor piano ballads in the late 20’s and early 30’s. Do you ever wish that old style had stuck around a little longer?

Dylan: Today, the mad rush of the world would trample over delicate music like that. Even if it had survived swing and jazz it would never make it past Dr. Dre. Things changed economically and socially. Two world wars, the stock market crash, the depression, the sexual revolution, huge sound systems, techno-pop. How could anything survive that?…

All tour dates and more info, below…

Bob Dylan press release:

Since first embarking on a tour of minor league baseball parks in 2004, over a half-million fans have come together to spend a night under the stars. With free admittance for children*, these tours draw a multi-generational fan base rarely seen on the concert circuit, causing one reporter to describe it as, “more like a backyard party than a rock concert.” The Boston Globe ranked the tour amongst “the most relaxed, enjoyable shows of the year. “You Can’t Beat Fun At The Old Ballpark,” came a headline from the Chicago Sun Times.

Besides performing over 100 concerts each year for the past 15 years, Bob Dylan drops into millions of households each week with his highly popular satellite radio program Theme Time Radio Hour. In recent years, he has also received the big-screen treatment, courtesy of film director Martin Scorcese, with the critically acclaimed release of No Direction Home, the first feature-length film biography of Bob Dylan. Prior to that, he spent over 20 weeks on the New York Times best seller list with the publication of Chronicles: Volume One, the first in a series of the artist’s self-penned personal histories. In between these high-water marks, Bob has earned multiple Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Kennedy Center Honor (the highest honor of artistic achievement given in the United States). As a recording artist, he continues to hit the long ball. After debuting at #1 with his last record, Modern Times, Bob Dylan is about to release a brand new studio album on April 28 through Columbia Records. Entitled Together Through Life, it has already received 4-star reviews from MOJO, The London Telegraph and the New York Times.

Over the course of a career that has spanned more than 30 years, John Mellencamp, consummate songwriter and performer, has released 23 albums with worldwide sales of over 40 million units while amassing 22 Top 40 hit songs. In 2008, the same year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Life Death Love and Freedom, was issued which Rolling Stone called “one of the most compelling albums of Mellencamp’s career” and placed it among the top 5 albums of the year. Mellencamp’s ties to Willie Nelson date back to 1985, the year they joined forces to mount the first Farm Aid benefit concert that also featured a stellar set from Bob Dylan. Mellencamp and Bob Dylan have been friendly for the past 25 years. Besides rallying his friends each year to support Farm Aid, Willie Nelson is quite possibly the most prolific recording artist in any genre of music. In the past five years alone he’s released no less than a dozen records, and when he’s not in the studio recording new albums, he fills time writing books, acting in feature films and generally keeping a pace unimaginable for someone half his age. It’s a wonder he even finds the time to tour.

All concert tickets are priced at $67.50 and most shows are general admission, allowing fans to grab a seat in the stands or find a place to watch from the field. Tickets will go on sale throughout the month of May (see attachment) and will be available at the local ballpark ticket office and affiliated ticket outlets. *Children 14 and under get in free with each adult ticket holder. Showtime is 5:30pm and gates open at 5:00. There is no baseball game on the day of the show. For more information about the tour and presale opportunities, visit www.bobdylan.com

Bob Dylan – 2009 Tour Dates
7/01 Milwaukee, WI at Marcus Ampitheater
7/02 Sauget, IL at GCS Ballpark
7/04 South Bend, IN at Coveleski Stadium
7/05 Rothbury, MI at Rothbury
7/08 Louisville, KY at Louisville Slugger Field
7/10 Dayton, OH at Fifth Third Field
7/11 Eastlake, OH at Classic Park
7/13 Washington, PA at Consol Energy Park
7/14 Allentown, PA at Coca-Cola Park
7/15 New Britain, CT at New Britain Stadium
7/19 Syracuse, NY at Alliance Bank Stadium
7/21 Pawtucket, RI at McCoy Stadium
7/23 Lakewood, NJ at FirstEnergy Park
7/24 Aberdeen, MD at Ripken Stadium
7/25 Norfolk, VA at Harbor Park
7/28 Durham, NC at Durham Bulls Athletic Park
7/29 Sevierville, TN at Smokies Park
8/04 Round Rock, TX at The Dell Diamond
8/05 Corpus Christi, TX at Whataburger Field
8/07 Grand Prairie, TX at QuikTrip Park
8/11 Glendale, AZ at Camelback Ranch
8/12 Las Vegas, NV at Cashman Field
8/14 Fresno, CA at Chukchansi Park
8/15 Stockton, CA at Banner Island Ballpark