Bob Dylan has wrapped up the US leg of his 2026 tour by adding new guitarist Jimmie Vaughan to the live band.
The change to the live band comes following a tumultuous few months of line-up changes as the iconic singer-songwriter hit the road for his ‘Rough And Rowdy Ways’ tour. In June, guitarist Doug Lancio stepped back from touring duties after a show at the Santa Barbara Bowl.
Lancio had been part of Dylan’s touring band since 2021, and has seemingly been replaced by jazz guitarist Julian Lange. A spokesperson for Dylan said they had “no word” on whether Lage was a permanent addition to the band, though.
Around two weeks later, acoustic guitarist Bob Britt left the live band too, having been a part of the touring band since 2019. Addressing his departure, Britt shared a social media post that was later deleted.
According to screenshots circulated by Dylan fans online, Britt posted “Sayonara Bobby” alongside an image showing a flight route from Austin, Texas to Nashville during a day off from the tour. In a later comment, he reportedly wrote: “I quit.”
Britt later shared an update on the situation via Facebook, confirming that he was “not fired” by Dylan.
“Apparently there are quite a few threads out there with people speculating about my departure from the Bob tour. I’d like to clear it up,” he began. “I was not fired but left of my own accord for reasons I would prefer to keep private. I will miss my band mates and crew.”
Lage has not been able to play every live show since joining the line-up, due to prior touring commitments, and Rolling Stone highlights that jazz and blues guitarist Joel Paterson joined Dylan’s live group on June 29, and R&B guitarist Jad Tariq would play live at the shows that Lage could not attend.
Now, on the final date of the US tour, which took place at the Ascend Federal Credit Union Amphitheater in Nashville, Tennessee on August 1, it appeared that another new guitarist has joined the line-up: Jimmie Vaughan.
Vaughan came out five songs into the set, joining Bob Dylan and co to perform ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’ song ‘False Prophet’, and stayed to also cover Bo Diddley’s 1961 deep cut ‘I Can Tell’.
The setlist from the final show of Dylan‘s Long Hot Summer US Tour 2026 in Nashville, shared by @JimmieVaughan, who joined the band on stage as a special guest for three songs.#bobdylan pic.twitter.com/9fvarUvogV
— Still On The Road (@StillOnTheRoad_) August 3, 2026
He then left the stage for eight songs, but came back to perform another ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’ song, ‘Goodbye Jimmy Reed’ towards the end of the set.
Vaughan is the brother of late music icon Stevie Ray Vaughan, and started working with Dylan in the ‘90s as part of the ‘Under The Red Sky’ sessions. He played on Dylan’s ‘Handy Dandy’, and also joined forces with his brother for work on ‘God Knows’, ‘Cat’s In The Well’ and ‘10,000 Men’.
The guitarist also came out for one live collab in April 2024, joining Dylan for nine songs at a show in Austin, Texas.
At time of writing, it isn’t yet clear which guitarists will be joining Dylan for the UK and European leg of his ‘Rough And Rowdy Ways’ tour, which kicks off in Norway in October.
Around that time, however, Lage will be playing more US shows and therefore highly unlikely to join Dylan for the UK and European dates.
The UK trek starts in Bournemouth on November 25, and includes shows in Birmingham, Sheffield and Blackpool. From there, Dylan will head to the capital for five headline performances at the Royal Festival Hall between December 3 and 8. These dates mark Dylan’s first visit to London since his trio of gigs at the Royal Albert Hall in 2024. Visit here for tickets.
The tour has already seen Dylan return to a number of rarely played songs. Earlier this month, he performed ‘I Shall Be Released’ for the first time in 18 years at Cuthbert Amphitheater in Eugene, Oregon, after also reviving ‘You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere’ near Seattle for the first time since 2012.
