Bob Dylan returning to Lakewood

Word has come down today (April 24) that rock and roll icon Bob Dylan will be returning to the Garden State on Thursday, July 23 when his summer tour of minor league ballparks comes to FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood. And, he's also bringing a couple of high-profile friends.

Just as with the last time he played FirstEnergy Park (home to the Lakewood BlueClaws) in June of 2005, Dylan is bringing along country legend Willie Nelson to join in on the summertime fun. Also taking the field this summer will be populist roots-rocker John Mellencamp.

(And FYI, while I think we've all heard "Pink Houses" about as many times as we'd ever need to, Mellencamp's 2003 Woody Guthrie-flavored album "Trouble No More" is, for my money, an incredibly under-appreciated gem that it totally a must-hear.)

This news, combined with the recent awesome announcement that Elvis Costello will be kicking off his latest tour at Red Bank's Count Basie Theatre this June, means that the classic rock gods have smiled on central Jersey this summer.

Speaking as someone who saw Dylan's last Lakewood show, I can tell you from experience that this is an evening you really cannot miss. For starters, Nelson and his band put on a killer knee-slapping, toe-tapping show that reminds you just how many Willie Nelson songs you never knew you knew.

And then, of course, there's Dylan. Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing Dylan live recently can attest to the fact that he and his blazing cowboy band have never sounded as great together as they do right about now. The buzz is red-hot on Dylan's new album, "Together Through Life," which is due on Tuesday (April 28) and the two tracks released so far ("Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" and "I Feel a Change Comin' On") are simply amazing.

During recent gigs in Europe the man has seemed very interesting in digging into the deepest corners of his unrivaled catalog. Die-hard fans and bootleg hounds the world over could be heard swooning when rare gems such as "Billy," "One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)," "This Wheel's on Fire" and even the Dean Martin cover "Return to Me" began cropping up in live sets earlier this year, and it's anyone's guess what the man has in store for the crowds on the stateside leg of his tour, which launches on July 2 at the GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill.

Tickets for the upcoming Lakewood show, which are $67.50, go on sale to the general public on next Saturday (May 2).

And, for nostalgia's sake, here's the set list from Dylan's June 15, 2005 Lakewood show, which still ranks among the best performances of his that I've ever seen.

1. "To Be Alone With You"
2. "She Belongs to Me"
3. "Cry a While"
4. "Just Like a Woman"
5. "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"
6. "Highway 61 Revisited"
7. "Queen Jane Approximately"
8. "Cold Irons Bound"
9. "Girl of the North Country"
10. "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum"
11. "Ballad of the Thin Man"
12. "Summer Days"

Encore:
13. "Don't Think Twice, it's Alright"
14. "Like a Rolling Stone"