Bob Dylan is reaching even further back into his musical archives with the latest installment of his acclaimed Bootleg Series. The new box set, titled Through The Open Window, 1956–1963, will spotlight the earliest years of Dylan’s journey — from his teenage experiments in Hibbing, Minnesota, to his meteoric rise in New York’s folk scene.
The collection, set for release later this year via Columbia/Legacy, will feature rare recordings, live performances, demos, and previously unheard tracks that shed light on Dylan’s artistic development before and during his breakthrough in the Greenwich Village era.
Highlights are said to include Dylan’s earliest known tape recordings from high school bands like The Golden Chords, raw coffeehouse performances captured at folk clubs in Dinkytown and New York, and alternate takes of songs that later appeared on his debut album in 1962. The set will also include newly restored audio of Dylan’s 1961–1963 radio and TV appearances, along with a detailed booklet featuring essays, rare photos, and first-hand accounts from contemporaries who watched him evolve from Robert Zimmerman to Bob Dylan.
Fans have long speculated about how much unreleased material exists from Dylan’s pre-Columbia years, and Through The Open Window appears to answer that question with unprecedented depth. Dylan archivists describe it as “the most intimate portrait yet” of the artist before fame fully took hold.
The Bootleg Series, launched in 1991, has become an essential part of Dylan’s catalog, peeling back the layers of one of music’s most influential songwriters. Previous volumes have explored his mid-’60s electric era, his Nashville sessions, and even his gospel years, but this release marks the first time the focus has turned to his very beginnings.
Through The Open Window, 1956–1963 will be available in both deluxe multi-disc editions and a condensed highlights version for casual listeners. Vinyl box sets and digital streaming options are also planned.
With this release, Dylan fans will gain unprecedented access to the sounds and spirit of the young troubadour just as he was beginning to shape the voice of a generation.
