In November 2024, I attended a Bob Dylan concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The reaction to my enthusiasm for seeing Dylan live from my social circle ranged from astonishment to scepticism, curiosity, and even implicit doubt about the viability of such a performance. Common questions such as, "Is he still performing?" and "Why? Does he need the money?" underscored the persistent societal expectation that careers and social engagement should be finite rather than dynamic and lifelong. Beneath these reactions may lie a deeper cultural assumption: that there is a natural expiration date for creative engagement, beyond which continued artistic pursuit is seen as unnecessary or even excessive.
Dylan, who began his career as the voice of a generation in the 1960s, has continually reinvented himself, refusing to settle into the role of a legacy act. Unlike many of his contemporaries who have retired or leaned into past successes, Dylan remains an active participant in contemporary music, evolving rather than merely preserving his past work. Though initially hailed as a prophet of his time, he has outlived the constraints of generational iconography, proving that artistic relevance does not have an expiry date. His concert at the Royal Albert Hall in November 2024 was not a farewell performance or a nostalgic revisitation of past triumphs, but a continuation of a career defined by reinvention.
However, the reactions from my social circle reveal broader cultural assumptions about ageing, the expectations placed on older individuals, and the notion that artistic endurance must have a limit. They expose a persistent paradox in how society views ageing: while we champion active ageing in theory, we remain surprised when older individuals continue to engage in demanding creative and professional pursuits. Moreover, they reflect the prevailing belief that music is primarily a young person’s endeavour, rather than an artistic pursuit that transcends age—favouring youth over experience and overlooking the creative longevity of artists who continue to innovate well into later life.
Challenging the Myth of Youth in Music
The cultural discourse on youth as vitality and ageing as decline is deeply embedded in rock music, which often romanticises youthful rebellion. "Hope I die before I get old," famously sung by The Who’s My Generation, exemplifies the belief that music, particularly rock, is inseparable from youth. While this sentiment was intended as a defiant rejection of societal norms at the time, it has paradoxically reinforced the idea that rock music is fundamentally a young person’s pursuit, leaving little space for ageing artists to remain central to the genre, while ageing is frequently depicted as stagnation or loss of relevance.
This theme is also evident in Dylan’s work, where youth is often associated with vitality, creativity, and a sense of purpose. Nowhere is this more apparent than in his renowned song Forever Young, a heartfelt dedication to his son, Jesse. Written in 1973, the song at first glance appears to frame youth as a biological stage, reinforcing the idea of eternal youth as an ideal.
However, a closer reading—both of the lyrics and Dylan’s actions in later life—reveals that he also presents youth as a mindset rather than a mere stage of life. The qualities he celebrates—action, creativity, engagement, and purpose—are not confined to the young but can persist into later life through the concept of active ageing. Lines such as "May your hands always be busy, may your feet always be swift… May your heart always be joyful. May your song always be sung" suggest that youth is less about age and more about maintaining a sense of curiosity, meaning, and vitality. Dylan’s own career exemplifies this idea, as he continues to reinvent himself well into his eighties. Similarly, artists like Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, and Johnny Cash have demonstrated that musical evolution does not end with youth but can deepen with age, proving that creativity is not a fleeting gift of youth but a lifelong process of exploration and reinvention.
Dylan and the Realities of Active Ageing
Bob Dylan’s career provides a compelling case study for understanding active ageing, illustrating how creativity, engagement, and continuous reinvention align with the principles outlined in contemporary ageing discourse. As the active ageing framework emphasises the importance of maintaining participation in cultural and civic life, Dylan’s decades-long artistic evolution exemplifies how older adults can continue to contribute meaningfully to society. Rather than retiring or retreating from public life, Dylan has remained an enduring figure in music, continuously producing new material, touring, and engaging in artistic innovation well into his later years. His ability to adapt—whether through shifting musical styles, thematic depth, or reinvention of his artistic persona—reflects a form of cognitive and creative resilience that aligns with the principles of active ageing.
Dylan’s career also challenges dominant narratives that equate ageing with stagnation or decline. Much like active ageing policies seek to shift perspectives on older adults’ potential for growth and contribution, Dylan’s continued output, including his critically acclaimed album Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020), demonstrates that later life can be a period of prolific creativity rather than cultural disengagement. His relentless touring schedule—famously dubbed the Never Ending Tour—illustrates how sustained physical and social engagement can contribute to well-being, reinforcing findings that social participation significantly influences mental and physical health outcomes. Furthermore, Dylan’s recognition as a cultural and literary icon, cemented by his Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016 at the age of 75, challenges the notion that achievement and recognition are limited to youth.
While Dylan’s career serves as a striking example of active ageing, it also highlights the complexities of the model. Scholars have pointed out that while active ageing frameworks promote engagement and productivity, they often require certain privileges—such as financial stability, good health, and access to opportunities—advantages that Dylan secured for himself throughout his career. In practice, active ageing is far more complex than its idealised framework suggests, as it is shaped by broader social and economic inequalities that influence an individual's ability to participate fully in later life.
Creativity and Ageing
More broadly, Dylan’s artistic longevity aligns with research on the intersection of ageing, creativity, and well-being. Studies suggest that creative engagement—whether through music, writing, or visual arts—acts as a protective factor against cognitive decline while fostering a greater sense of purpose and fulfilment in later life. Dylan’s refusal to retire and his continuous reinvention reinforce the idea that creativity is not confined to youth but is instead a lifelong process that sustains intellectual vitality and deepens artistic expression. His continued presence in the public sphere challenges ageist narratives that assume older individuals should retreat from professional or creative pursuits. Instead, his work exemplifies how later life can be a period of rich artistic exploration, much like the findings of Fancourt and Steptoe (2018), who argue that cultural participation predicts long-term cognitive benefits. Dylan, alongside other ageing artists who remain creatively active, demonstrates that artistic longevity not only enhances individual well-being but also reshapes societal perceptions of ageing, reinforcing the growing recognition of creativity as a fundamental element of active ageing.
Rethinking Ageing Through Dylan
Bob Dylan’s career exemplifies the contradictions in how society perceives ageing. On one hand, we expect people to retire and withdraw from public life after a certain age, yet we fail to recognise this as a form of ageism. At the same time, we champion active ageing yet react with surprise when Dylan takes the stage at 83. Perhaps it is not ageing itself that unsettles us, but the refusal to conform to the roles we have assigned to it. His career serves as a reminder that artistic expression, like life itself, should not be measured in years but in its capacity for reinvention, engagement, and the pursuit of meaning.
About the Author:
Dr Melina Malli is a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing.
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