Happy Birthday Susan Tedeschi: Sitting-In With Bob Dylan in 1999

When Bob Dylan saw Susan Tedeschi guest with Phil Lesh & Friends during a 1999 tour featuring the two acts, he was so impressed he invited Tedeschi and her band to open for him a few weeks later. Susan T. and her band wound up opening what turned out to be the final Bob Dylan gig of the millennium on November 20, 1999 at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Delaware. In honor of the Tedeschi Trucks Band frontwoman’s birthday, let’s take a look back at that night which saw her sit-in with Dylan and his band.

Dylan wound up inviting her to sit-in on four songs during his performance. Susan was the Dylan band’s guest on “It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry” and “Highway 61 Revisited” during Bob’s main set as well as versions of “Not Fade Away” and “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” in the encore.

Fan-shot footage of “It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry” is available thanks to Giovanni Maria Varese. The normally stoic Dylan is all smiles as he jams with Tedeschi:

We’ve also come across an audience recording of Susan’s opening set: