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Fifth Third Field to host Dylan, Mellencamp, Nelson

Bob Dylan

Willie Nelson performs his classic hits during a show in Nashville, Tenn. in this Tuesday, June 28, 2005 file photo.

Singer John Mellencamp rehearses at the FleetCenter in Boston on Wednesday, July 28, 2004.

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By Laura Dempsey, Staff Writer Updated 12:58 PM Friday, April 24, 2009

DAYTON — Fifth Third Field is one of 23 minor-league ballparks chosen to host The Bob Dylan Show, a concert featuring Dylan, John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson. The Dayton show is scheduled for July 10. The tour will hit 30 cities, seven of which will be in non-ballpark venues.

Tickets for the Fifth Third concert go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. May 2 at all Ticketmaster outlets, with pre-sale offers made available by mail to Dragons’ corporate sponsors and season ticket holders. All tickets will be $67.50, regardless of seat location.

“We’re excited about the show; we’re excited about the acts,” said Eric Deutsch, executive vice president of Mandalay Baseball/Dayton Dragons.

Fifth Third Field got into the concert business back in 2005, hosting Def Leppard and Bryan Adams in August of that year. That show saw the most people in the field to date — just less than 9,000 people came and rocked; for baseball games, Fifth Third can seat 7,250 people with room for about 1,000 more on the lawn and standing around. Total capacity for concerts is right around 11,000, with 4,000 seats available in the prized on-field position.

In August 2008, “High School Musical” stars Vanessa Hudgens and Corbin Bleu played to a healthy crowd of tween-aged fans.

Dylan and Nelson teamed up for a “ballpark tour” for the first time in 2004, hitting 22 fields during August and September. At the time, Dylan was quoted as saying, “What we aim to do with this tour is hit the ball out of the park, touch all the bases and get home safely.”

Bob Dylan last appeared in Dayton on Oct. 16, 2007, at Wright State’s Nutter Center, where he played to a half-full arena. Amos Lee and Elvis Costello opened that show — and FYI, Costello will be coming to Kettering’s Fraze Pavilion Aug. 27.

“Together through Life,” Dylan’s 46th release and 33rd studio album — the first new studio release since 2006 — will be in stores on Tuesday, April 28.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2403 or ldempsey@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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