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This article was originally published on Smile Politely.

The Wallflowers have had a multitude of revolving band members over the years, but it’s the group’s founder and leader who has stayed steadfast and provided the long-haul star power. One attendee of the band’s July 19, 2024, show at Virginia Theatre was there just to see him.

“Jakob Dylan,” said Heidi Bidner in a diffident voice. The 51-year-old Bidner, who works at the School of Music at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and once owned Shady Nook bar in Saybrook, then laughed and called Dylan an “awesome singer.”

Fans of The Wallflowers who attended the energetic show – an audience with a notably wide range of ages – would likely agree with Bidner. Dylan and his cohorts played 20 songs, four during the encore, from nearly every Wallflowers album. Songs from Exit Wounds (2021) and the multi-platinum Bringing Down the Horse (1996) were particularly well represented.

The 54-year-old Dylan, whose hair in front has receded a bit but is still dark, is the son of legendary musician Bob Dylan, who played a show at the Assembly Hall in Champaign on his Never Ending Tour 1994 jaunt. He charted The Wallflowers path starting in the early 1990s with a comfortable-sounding self-titled album that stretches for more than an hour and contains laid back roots-rock tunes, none of which was played at the Virginia Theatre show. The four-year gap between The Wallflowers’ first and second albums indicates an artist who was willing to take his time, hone his craft, get the right musicians, and evolve into poppier chart-seeking territory. The wait paid off as the group’s sophomore album, Bringing Down the Horse, generated four hit songs and sold more than four million copies.

Watching the onstage mannerisms of Jakob Dylan at Virginia Theatre was nearly as entertaining as the steady stream of catchy rockers the band churned out. Though unassuming as a public figure, Dylan is a genuine showman who sometimes watches his bandmates with amusement and what seems like admiration as they’re playing. Onstage banter and laughter among the musicians were common, especially at the start of the show.

Chitchat between Dylan and the audience was minimal, though he did tell the crowd his band traveled a long distance to make the gig and was aiming to play its top songs. In the middle of the tune “God Don’t Make Lonely Girls,” Dylan introduced his bandmates and let them shine briefly on their instruments. The rhythm section, Mark Stepro on drums and Whynot Jansveld on bass, provided most of the backing vocals, though multi-instrumentalist Ben Peeler and keyboardist Aaron Embry chipped in on some of the larger choruses. Chris Masterson played a mean guitar all night.

Dylan’s scratchy baritone voice at times calls to mind Bruce Springsteen. On the song “I’ve Been Delivered” from Breach, his fast-paced storytelling lyrics felt like a conversation with the crowd as he stopped playing guitar and gelled vocally with the audience. The shrill parts of his voice and some of his lyrical inflections offered glimpses of Dylan’s musical heritage.

Cat Stevens’ “Wild World” began the encore tunes and two Tom Petty songs followed. Some in the audience may have preferred Wallflowers tracks to wrap things up, but the group undoubtedly wanted to keep the crowd standing up by playing popular tracks. The guys ended the night with the bouncy song “The Difference,” bringing down the house with another Bringing Down the Horse classic.

All in all, it was a fun and satisfying performance from a band that knows how to evoke feelings across the board.