Bob Dylan cancels 2020 U.S. summer tour, citing coronavirus concerns

Bob Dylan won't be touring this summer after all.

The canceled shows include his June San Diego performance with Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and Hot Club of Cowtown

San Diego Union-Tribune

May 12, 2020 3:50 PM PT

Citing public health concerns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Bob Dylan on Tuesday announced the cancellation of his 2020 summer tour.

The tour, which included a June 17 Pechanga Arena San Diego, was scheduled to run from June 4 to July 12 and would have teamed Dylan and his band with Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and Hot Club of Cowtown. The tour would have coincided with the release of Dylan’s new album, “Rough and Rowdy Ways,” due out June 19.

The legendary troubadour, who will turn 79 on May 24, announced his tour cancellation on his social media sites Tuesday afternoon. His statement indicated that efforts to postpone the tour for later in 2020 did not prove feasible. Tickets can be refunded at point of purchase.

Here is his announcement:

To all our fans.

In the interest of public health and safety and after many attempts to try and reschedule these shows for a workable time frame this year, it is with deep regret that we announce the U.S. Bob Dylan shows originally scheduled for June/July are cancelled. We hope to be back out on the road at the earliest possible time once we are confident that it is safe for both fans and concert staff. Please contact your point of purchase for all information on refunds.

George Varga

San Diego Union-Tribune music critic George Varga began drumming in rock bands at 12 and writing professionally about music at 15. A Louisiana native who grew up mostly in Germany, Varga has earned three Pulitzer Prize nominations for his writing at the U-T and is a voting member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to providing live coverage of the Grammy Awards and festivals from Coachella and KAABOO to the 1994 edition of Woodstock, he has interviewed everyone from Miles Davis, Britney Spears and (over a game of chess) Ray Charles to Willie Nelson, Kanye West and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis. A triple first prize-winner for criticism and arts writing at the 2022 San Diego Press Club awards and a first prize-winner at the 2022 San Diego Society of Professional Journalists awards, Varga is also a contributing writer for Jazz Times magazine and has written for Billboard, Spin and other publications. After attending San Diego City College and San Diego State University, he created and taught the 2002 UC San Diego Extension course, “Jazz in a Post-Ken-Burns World.” Varga has written liner notes for more than a dozen albums, including by jazz sax greats James Moody and Michael Brecker, and contributed two chapters to the book, “Dylan: Disc By Disc.”