When Bob Dylan and his band walked on stage in black suits at the Stroh Center Sunday night, they were applauded with a standing ovation from the audience.
Dylan is touring colleges and universities as part of his process to target his music more towards college students. The American Red Cross hosted the concert and Los Angeles rock band, Dawes, opened up the night for Dylan. Dawes is in its second week of touring with Dylan.
Chris Kozak, American Red Cross board member, said the company was able to sell more than 500 student tickets in presale and when deciding which artist to book that would attract to college students, many artists were thought about in the process. Student tickets were sold for $25 each and ended up selling well, he said.
“It’s a really cool way for Dylan to take his music and drive it toward college students’ age group,” Kozak said. “The ticket price for the show was a great opportunity for people to come out and see the show.”
Dylan performed songs such as “Things Have Changed,” “Love Sick” and “High Water” as the crowd cheered and clapped in between songs during his set, which consisted of dim lighting on stage. The audience sat back in their seats during the performance, quiet during each song.
Taylor Goldsmith, lead singer and guitarist for Dawes, said fans of Dylan’s have been surprisingly welcoming towards the band and the shows have been great because of getting to watch and listen to the musician and his band.
“It’s been very rewarding for being the opening band,” Goldsmith said. “It’s almost too much to wrap our heads around but now that we’re here and seeing everything happen every night, it has been a real trip.”
Dawes performed songs from its recently released album, “Stories Don’t End” such as “Side Effects,” “Most People” and “Just Beneath the Surface.”
Goldsmith said his band will try and incorporate songs into its set list that would appeal to Bob Dylan fans in order to make the show better for the audience. His band toured with Mumford and Sons this past year and the same process was taken for the shows, he said.
“The crowds are different and the performance depends on what the crowd is like giving back to you,” Goldsmith said. “Fans come to certain shows to see their headliner and it changes on who the headliner is and we’ll shape our set according to the show. Such as playing songs that we think Bob Dylan fans will enjoy.”
Zack Holbrook, junior, attended the concert and said he has been a fan of Dylan’s music for a couple of years and the atmosphere for the show was great.
“Dylan’s the godfather of folk music,” Holbrook said. “He’s just a legend.”
