Bob Dylan Shows Up With New Drummer At 2025 Tour Opener In Tulsa

Bob Dylan kicked off his 2025 tour on Tuesday night at the intimate Tulsa Theater in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While the setlist didn’t contain any surprises, there was a big change to the lineup of Dylan’s band.

Longtime Letterman house band drummer Anton Fig was behind the kit last night at the 2,800-capacity venue in the home city of the Bob Dylan Center. Fig stepped in for Jim Keltner, who played drums for Dylan since the start of the 2024 Outlaw Festival tour. The rest of Bob’s ensemble featured guitarists Bob Britt and Doug Lancio along with Tony Garnier on bass.

Anton Fig previously worked with Bob Dylan in the mid-’80s. As Uncut pointed out, Fig contributed to “Clean Cut Kid” off 1985’s Empire Burlesque and “Drifting Too Far From Home” from 1986’s Knocked Out Loaded. Additionally, the highly talented musician was the drummer for the Bob Dylan The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration at Madison Square Garden on October 16, 1992.

Bob Dylan started the night off on guitar for classics “All Along the Watchtower” and “It Ain’t Me, Babe” before settling in at the baby grand piano. Dylan fit a 15-minute intermission between his eighth and ninth songs of the concert. Past stops on the Rough And Rowdy Ways Tour did not include setbreaks.

The 17-song performance featured nine cuts from Rough And Rowdy Ways, the 2020 LP that stands as Dylan’s latest studio album. Other “hits” to make the setlist besides the first two tunes were “When I Paint My Masterpiece,” “Desolation Row” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.”

Check out fan-shot footage and audience-taped audio of last night’s Bob Dylan tour opener below: