In the wake of the 2024 movie A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan, many newfound Dylan fans have started to appear. However, the craze over Dylan was even more prevalent in the 1960s, when he was starting in New York. People praised him as a savior of folk, though, as shown in the film, Dylan's use of electric instruments at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival tore his fanbase apart. Already, he created a schism in his following through his presence on stage.

People didn't expect Dylan to do this; they didn't expect Dylan to "go electric" and tear away from his folk roots. However, I believe that Dylan didn't see it that way. Instead of ripping away from his roots, he grew some new branches.

Dylan's following rivals that of the Beatles. The Beatles had Beatlemania and couldn't even perform live over the overbearing screams of their fans. On the other hand, while still very large, Dylan's fanbase didn't turn into such a manic scene, but instead created a persistent following, even leading to the academic study of Dylan's work. The Beatles had Beatlemania; Dylan has Dylanologists.

Dylanology, as silly as it may seem, holds a strong stance in academia. Countless books have been written on Dylan's life and work, viewing him as a poet. And, I have to agree with them. To further strengthen this point, we can look back at 2016 and take note of his Nobel Prize in Literature, which made him the first songwriter to be granted the award.

Yet, most Dylan listeners, I believe, are just casual listeners. They know a handful of songs and might not always like his voice and piecing harmonica, but they still consider him good and, probably, a musical legend. So, that's why I think so many people around me at the Outlaw Music Festival seemed disappointed by his performance.

The festival, which Willie Nelson headlines, travels around the country. I got the privilege to see Dylan when the festival went through Charlotte, NC, and I couldn't be happier (other than the insane beer prices, but that's a different story). When Dylan walked out, he only used two of the four jumbo screens. And, the two that he did use showed the entirety of the darkly lit stage, with no close-ups of Dylan or any other member of his backing band. The only way to spot him from afar was by his white hat that bobbed over the back of his piano. Many people around me were confused, which I will assume arose from the anti-climactic entrance, and didn't even realize he had gotten on stage until he started to play.

During the show, Dylan surprisingly played some classics of his, such as "To Ramona," "All Along the Watchtower," "Desolation Row," "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35," and "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright." These songs surprised me because a few years ago, when, during his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, I saw Dylan for my first and only other (so far) time, he sang almost none of his classics and stuck mostly with songs from the tour's namesake album.

I was ecstatic to hear him sing his older songs, even if I could barely understand them. This brings me to why, beyond the underuse of the big screens, most people were disappointed: his voice. It's no huge secret that Dylan's voice has not been the best for the past few decades. He's 84, so, personally, I cut him some slack. Though I get it, his singing nowadays sounds more like a raspy mumbling, causing even me, a huge fan of Dylan who knows many of his lyrics, to not even recognize some of the songs.

Between songs, as the backing band tried to get synced with Dylan's piano playing, I heard people around me complain in a confused manner, as if they were missing something. Can you understand him? Why is he singing like that? Why is he even still performing? When does Willie Nelson come on?

I heard these and smiled because I expected and loved it. This performance of his is wholly Bob Dylan. He's not singing for us; he's singing for himself simply because he can. During the "Rainy Day Women" performance, my girlfriend looked over at me and noted how he's singing it differently. She didn't understand why, and, honestly, I'm not sure if I do either. But I believe he's an artist, and his songs are his art. He's sang all these songs many times, and to him, I believe, it's boring and tiring to sing them in their album form. If you want to hear the song as it sounds on the album, why not just look it up on Spotify?

He's not the Dylan of 1960, 1980, or 2000. Dylan has continuously captured so many people's attention over the years because he keeps surprising them. His enigmatic character changes as soon as you think you've figured him out. Even in interviews, it's unclear what he's talking about, and if he's being deep or muttering nonsense.

So, while many people might find disappointment in his performances today, they might, like many in the 1965 Newport audience, discover years later that what he's doing now just isn't fully understood for what it is. And, while I don't understand it either, I still am able to enjoy it, even if a little disappointed.