Inside Bob Dylan’s tour rider – 10-salad bar, ‘isolated’ eggs, and chunks of ginger

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Whether Bob Dylan is using the same tour rider as he did 20 years ago is unknowable, but it’s nice to think his eggs are still “isolated” ahead of the 2026 European tour.

Dylan will return to Europe and the United Kingdom for a series of shows after performing across North America. His shows in the States had him add I Shall Be Released and Man in the Long Black Coat back to his setlist for the first time in over a decade. With his first European performace set to take place tonight (October 17) in Oslo, fans may hope to hear both songs, as well as a collection of deep cuts and classics. But before the show, some may be wondering what Dylan gets up to, and how he prepares to perform in massive stadiums across the globe.

A News Gazette piece has since revealed all, with Dylan’s tour rider from an undisclosed date shared with members of the public. The tour rider serves as instructions to a venue, which is told everything they need to know about the performer and personnel, from dietary requirements to when an attendee can enter the venue.

Dylan’s shows across Europe may feature some similar instructions, particularly the refusal to admit any audience member mid-song. “As in a theatrical performance, where audience members are held at doors into the theatre during the performance until there is a brief interval between songs,” is what the rider states.

Further instructions featured a ban on frozen fish and trout, and a desire for meat products that are fresh, grilled, and “not drenched in any kind of sauce”. Fair requests so far, but the isolation of eggs and a 10-salad bar may raise some eyebrows. A “dinner musts” section posted by News Gazette confirmed that Dylan’s team requested real china, at least 10 ingredients in a salad bar, and fresh veggies.

It reads: “‘Real china plates with silverware and cloth napkins,’; a starch side dish of ‘rice OR potatoes, NOT both’; lettuce other than iceberg; no fewer than 10 toppings if there’s a salad bar; fresh veggies (‘not frozen or canned’) that may be lightly seasoned but are not to be overcooked, and a variety of desserts that ‘is not limited to cakes, pies, etc.'”

Those in the touring unit who desire eggs can get them made to order, but the rider requires this preparation area be “isolated from the general dining area.” While that’s a rule that applies to the entire touring crew, Dylan has a few specific rules of his own, pertaining to his dressing room.

Dylan’s requirements include “an electric tea kettle with an assortment of black and herbal teas, paper hot cups and teaspoons, one unopened jar of honey, one chunk of raw ginger, six large uncut lemons with a cutting board and knife, two 1-liter bottles of Evian spring water (‘please, no 1.5-liter bottles’) and two ‘real drinking glasses’ and plastic cups.”