A concert almost six decades in the making, American indie pop-folk-rock singer-songwriter Cat Power will recreate live Bob Dylan's fabled and transformative 1966 Royal Albert Hall concert set in a series of Australian shows next year.
After revealing a one-off Melbourne concert last month (at the same venue Dylan originally performed in 1966), Cat Power has extended the tour to include Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Byron Bay alongside an appearance at Port Fairy Folk Festival (Victoria) in March.A seminal moment not only in Dylan's storied career, but also the history of modern music, the Festival Hall concert in Melbourne – staged April 1966 and followed a month later at the Manchester Free Trade Hall in the UK (it was the recording of this concert that formed the 1998 two-disc live album 'Live 1966: The Royal Albert Hall Concert') – saw the artist many have labelled the greatest songwriter of all time switch mid-set from his accustomed solo acoustic numbers, to an electric performance with his band The Hawks.
It resulted in fiery outrage and passionate heckling from audience members (you could argue Dylan would've crashed social media with such an 'antic'), yet Dylan had inadvertently cemented rock & roll's status as the popular form of music of the day.
An artist with 30-plus years experience and 11 studio albums to her credit, last year Cat Power aka Chan Marshall released her first live album 'Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert' recorded at Royal Albert Hall in London. It features classics like 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue', 'Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues' and 'Mr. Tambourine Man', as well as songs from Dylan's seminal album 'Blonde On Blonde'.
For the Melbourne concert – staged at Festival Hall (the same venue Dylan played in 1966) – Cat Power will be joined by Big Thief member Buck Meek and his band, as Chan inhabits each song with equal parts conviction and grace, and a palpable sense of protectiveness.
Tickets to the Melbourne show and Port Fairy Folk Fest are on sale; tickets to all other shows on sale from 9am (local time) on 4 October.
Cat Power Sings Dylan 2025 Tour Dates
Mon 3 Mar - City Recital Hall (Sydney)Thu 6 Mar - Festival Hall (Melbourne)* with Buck Meek and his band
Sun 9 Mar - Port Fairy Folk Festival
Mon 10 Mar - Her Majesty's Theatre (Adelaide)
Wed 12 Mar - QPAC (Brisbane)
Thu 13 Mar - The Green Room @ Bluesfest (Byron Bay)
