I have a confession to make, and it may surprise you, but – I’m not a Bob Dylan fan.

I’m certainly not his biggest fan, but I never said I didn’t like his music – I do. By the time I arrived on the scene in June 1971, he was already Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, writing iconic songs like “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” And for more than 50 years, he’s been knock, knock, knockin’ on my door, but I still can’t find the words to call myself…a fan. I’m becoming more comfortable with that fact, especially now that I know I’m not alone.

In March I saw an announcement that Bob was going to be performing in Fayetteville, and I jumped at the chance to get tickets. Why? He’s a legend, and when you claim to be a music fan like I do, you don’t let the opportunity pass to see one of the greatest songwriters of all time.

I wrangled up my good buddy Herman Ospina – who also never claimed to be a Bob Dylan fan but came along for the same reasons – and we made it to the show.

When we got there, I happened upon two other local friends – David Branch and Stan Carmical, who were excited to tell me they’d seen ol’ Bob on his famous 1974 tour with The Band, following his notorious motorcycle accident. There was no way I was going to admit to them that I merely knew a handful of Dylan’s songs.

First, here’s why I harbor the guilt I do for not being a bigger fan. Bob Dylan is one of the most prolific singer/songwriters ever. Time magazine named him one of the most important people of the century, he’s a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and he was awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature – in fact, he is the first musician to be awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. He’s released 50 albums and sold more than 125 million copies. Aside from Elvis Presley, he might be the most impactful artists of our time.

But it was the ‘80s when I really got my introduction to Bob, although that wasn’t his shining decade. We all remember “We Are The World.” His presence on that single is unquestionable, although if you’ve seen the Netflix documentary, “The Greatest Night In Pop,” he was a fish out of water in the room with all the hitmakers of that era. Around the same time, he joined Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne in the super group The Traveling Wilburys, and I enjoyed their music, too.

During the glorious 80s, my good friend Michael Bullock gave me a vinyl copy of Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits, and “Subterranean Homesick Blues” nearly got the grooves worn out of it. But I still couldn’t call myself a fan. Around that same time, he released an album called “Infidels,” that included the song “Jokerman,” a song I really liked, thanks to MTV (for those of you who remember when they played music videos). However, Stan Carmical told me he didn’t like this album, and that is when I found a kindred spirit.

“There are stages in Dylan’s career that don’t speak to me at all,” said Stan. “I’m a big fan of ‘Blood on the Tracks,’ but not a big fan of ‘Infidels’ at all.”

And this is the fork in the road where many of us not-so-big-of-Dylan-fans rest. While his work is greatly appreciated by many, it’s also an acquired taste, and with such a vast catalog that sweeps over six decades and multiple generations, it’s hard to please everyone. I have to think that more people are like me. Just like Stan, I like some of his music and some I don’t care for. The same goes for his setlists. After the spring tour, fans complained about him not doing the songs they wanted to hear.

Having never seen Bob in concert before, I looked up his setlist to see what classics he’d be playing. To my surprise, and others’ – there were none. I recognized one song – “Serve Somebody…” which of all places, I knew from The Sopranos Soundtrack. “Like A Rolling Stone,” “The Times…,” “Homesick Blues…” not one of them were on the setlist. Perhaps I was just naïve.

“I think when it comes to Bob, it’s ‘I’m gonna do it my way, and if you don’t like it, that’s just sad for you,’” Stan added. The setlist was no surprise to him, and he advised that a Bob Dylan setlist could drastically change and even include “quirky covers.”

“He’s fiercely independent and that has always appealed to me,” Stan said. “I mean, that’s what rock and roll is all about. I admire his willingness to do it his own way. He’s a remarkable public figure.”

On my birthday in June, Dylan played in Raleigh as part of the Willie Nelson Outlaw Festival, and I was there. I’d never seen Bob Dylan in concert before this year and now I was about to see him a second time. Curious, I looked online to see if the setlist had changed. Indeed, it had. Completely. And Stan was right about the cover songs – there were at least four of them – all of them…unique, from Chuck Berry to The Grateful Dead.

Then there was the mysterious 2024 concert t-shirt he sold at the Outlaw Festival. Fans noticed that it was actually a 2012 Tempest Tour shirt (that had a 2024 copyright). It even listed one date – Rosemont, Ill. from November 10, 2012… that never happened. Stan and I had a laugh over this one, and so did many fans. Whatever Bob was up to, it’s intriguing. Perhaps, if I were a bigger fan I might have a clue.

So many things have been pushing me toward Bob Dylan, maybe it’s no coincidence. A couple of years ago, local artist Jim Tripp gifted me the book “Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine” by Mark Davidson and Parker Fishel. It was a greatly appreciated little surprise but not enough to force me to sit down and read. And then Larry Pittman approached me at a Christmas party, and before leaving suggested I give a listen to “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” from the 1965 record “Bringing It All Back Home.” Maybe I should give that some serious thought.

Bob Dylan is revolutionary. His influence on music and culture is immense, and I have great respect and admiration for him, but he’s just not an artist I listen to a lot. It’s also becoming increasingly clear that I’m not the only one who feels this way, and that makes me feel better, although at the time of this writing, I am a bigger Bob Dylan fan than ever before