Coventry Celebrates Bob Dylan’s First Visit with New “Maggie’s Farm” Exhibition

Fans of one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time can indulge in a day of Bob Dylan thanks to a new exhibition marking the musician’s first ever performance in Coventry.

Still Working on Maggie’s Farm, on display at Coventry Music Museum, is a celebration of the American superstar and his song Maggie's Farm, famously covered by Coventry group The Specials.

The exhibition has been created to commemorate Dylan’s concert at Coventry Building Society Arena on November 13. Due to popular demand additional tickets for the show, which forms part of Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, have now been released.

Running until December, the exhibition centres around a Bob Dylan-themed room that features items relating to some of his most famous lyrics.

The room, which fans can visit before attending the evening show, takes visitors back to the singer’s early days as a performer with the odd clue to lyrics that Dylan tantalised the music world with back in the 1960s.

Although Dylan has never previously visited Coventry there are still a few links between him and the area.

Like Maggie‘s Farm, Rainy Day Woman was covered by a Coventry band, but in the shape of Selector on their 1995 album Pucker! The song Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again namechecked Warwickshire playwright William Shakespeare while Hinckley-based Triumph Motorcycles has also influenced his musical journey.

Dylan used to ride a Triumph motorbike, a brand originally made in Coventry, and he famously sported a Triumph Motorcycles T-shirt on the cover of his legendary 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited.

Paul Michael, Managing Director of Coventry Building Society Arena, said: “Few people have influenced music over the last 50 years quite like Bob Dylan, so it’s an honour and a privilege to welcome him to our venue for what will be his first ever performance in Coventry.

“The exhibition at Coventry Music Museum is a wonderful tribute to Dylan’s maiden appearance in the city and means that fans can celebrate his songs and impact on music over the course of an entire day.

“Dylan’s show is yet another coup - with Ed Sheeran and Take That also bound for the Coventry Building Society Arena over the next 12 months – and, allied with the exhibition, should help to deliver a major boost to the city’s visitor economy.”

Museum Curator Pete Chambers BEM said: “As a life-long Dylan fan it was a no-brainer to do something special at the museum to mark his visit to our city. Especially as our very own superstars The Specials have covered the Dylan classic ‘Maggies Farm’.

“Our Dylan Room may be compact, but so far no one has found all the song titles hidden in visual clues to ten Zimmy classics. Maybe the times are a changing and someone will crack the clues very soon. We look forward to welcoming many more fans and visitors.”

For more information and tickets to Bob Dylan’s Coventry Building Society Arena show, visit

https://www.eticketing.co.uk/cbsarena/EDP/Event/Index/160?position=1