Bob Dylan, Wembley Arena

Bob Dylan dominated headlines back in October when he was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature and now fans have even more to get excited about - the announcement of his 2017 UK tour. He will be performing in London for one night only on Tuesday 9 May, and you can guarantee that tickets will sell out in minutes.

There is something uncanny about a 2017 Bob Dylan gig announcement. Over the last fifty years, the lore that has unfurled around America’s greatest songwriter has made him more myth than man. It’s hard to believe he’s still around, still playing. Music publisher Lou Levy said in 1960 that he didn’t know if Dylan was ahead of his time or behind it; that there was no precedent for what he was doing, and that adage holds true to this day.

Dylan emerged in 1962 with a record of protest songs in the folk tradition, but since then, he has shifted shape endlessly. Over the course of half a century, he’s given us blues, country, gospel, rock and roll, rockabilly, Irish folk music, jazz. His latest record, 2015’s Shadows in the Night, is a collection of American songbook standards, popularised by Frank Sinatra: the latest instalment in Dylan’s quest to mine the American psyche.

Along with these American classics, his 2017 set will most likely be interspersed with older material – though judging from recent appearances, Dylan’ll stick mainly to his post millennial output. Anyone turning up hoping for ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ a la 1965 will be disappointed. Even when Dylan draws on his classic repertoire, he plays fast and loose.

Tickets go on sale from 10:00 on Tuesday 13 December. See the official website for more information.