The Bob Dylan Center will celebrate its newest exhibition, “Going Electric: Bob Dylan ’65,” with two special performances by the Million Dollar Bashers—featuring members of Sonic Youth, X, Wilco, and more—on July 26 at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Million Dollar Bashers are an ad-hoc supergroup comprising Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth; John Doe of X; Nels Cline and Mikael Jorgensen of Wilco; Ethan Miller of Howlin Rain; singer-songwriter Sunny War; three-time U.S. Poet Laureate and Bob Dylan Center artist-in-residence Joy Harjo (accompanied by Doug Keith); dream-pop duo Dean & Britta of Luna; singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock; and singer-songwriter Emma Swift. Ranaldo will serve as musical director for the evening.
The name “Million Dollar Bashers” nods to the musicians—including Ranaldo, Shelley, and Doe—who performed on the soundtrack of the 2007 Todd Haynes–directed Dylan biopic I’m Not There. Dylan first recorded the song “Million Dollar Bash” with The Band in 1967 and officially released it as part of the Basement Tapes collection in 1975. The evening’s set list will spotlight Dylan songs from 1965, the year he electrified the Newport Folk Festival with members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and released the landmark albums Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited.
“I can’t wait to hear what Lee Ranaldo and the Million Dollar Bashers—featuring many of our favorite artists—have in store for this celebration of the ‘Going Electric: Bob Dylan ’65’ exhibition,” said Steven Jenkins, director of the Bob Dylan Center. “With amazing vocalists like Dean & Britta, John Doe, Robyn Hitchcock, Emma Swift, Sunny War, and our artist-in-residence Joy Harjo on stage alongside a crazy-great house band led by Lee, I expect we’ll get Dylan classics and deep cuts performed with passion and inventiveness by these longtime fans.”
The concerts will cap a week of Dylan-related festivities in Tulsa, including the opening of the comprehensive exhibit “Going Electric: Bob Dylan ’65” and the return of the biannual World of Bob Dylan conference organized by the University of Tulsa.
Tickets will be available for two concert times: a seated early show at 6:30 p.m. and a standing-room-only late show at 9:30 p.m. Sales open to Bob Dylan Center members on Wednesday, June 25, at 10 a.m. CT; to World of Bob Dylan conference registrants on Thursday, June 26, at 10 a.m. CT; and to the general public on Friday, June 27, at 10 a.m. CT.
Premium table seating and sponsorship opportunities, which support the Bob Dylan Center’s outreach initiatives and public programs, are available for the early, seated event. Interested parties may email members@bobdylancenter.com for details.
“Going Electric,” the center’s most comprehensive exhibit to date, chronicles the rise of folk-rock in 1965, culminating at the Newport Folk Festival. Highlights include the original manuscript of “Mr. Tambourine Man,” Mike Bloomfield’s electric guitar from the Newport performance, and other rarely or never-before-seen artifacts.
An exclusive member opening of the exhibit will be held on Wednesday, July 23, at the center, followed by a one-time screening at Circle Cinema of rare footage from Dylan’s controversial July 25, 1965, Newport Folk Festival appearance and a Q&A session.
More information about the concerts, exhibit, and memberships is available at bobdylancenter.com.
About the Bob Dylan Center
The Bob Dylan Center, located at 116 E. Reconciliation Way in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 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 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 nearly 40 countries and has earned numerous design awards along with praise from The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Variety, Uncut, and Mojo.
