Courtney Love Covers Bob Dylan's ‘Like a Rolling Stone'
The Hole frontwoman performed the iconic 1965 track at the Royal Geographical Society on Tuesday (March 4) while appearing in conversation with actor-writer Todd Almond. The event celebrated Almond's new oral history collection Slow Train Coming: Bob Dylan's 'Girl From the North Country' and Broadway's Rebirth.
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Following their discussion, Love stepped onto the stage alongside an acoustic guitarist, delivering a raw and impassioned rendition of the classic song, with Almond providing backing vocals.
The performance took place nearly 60 years after Dylan famously played 'Like a Rolling Stone' at the Royal Albert Hall, just next door to the event venue.
During the evening, Love also addressed longstanding speculation about a Hole reunion—shutting down rumors once again. Despite previously hinting in early 2024 that the band might reunite, she reiterated that there are no current plans to bring the group back together.
Love's choice of cover continues a recent trend of unexpected performances. In February, she appeared onstage alongside Green Day frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong, who was performing at the U.K. venue The Garage with his side-project covers band, The Coverups.
'Ladies and gentlemen, Courtney Love,' Armstrong said halfway through the show according to fan video of the moment the singer unexpectedly took the stage. 'Thank you, Billie Joe. My name is Courtney Love – you may not remember me. I've been living in a cave in Birmingham for about nine years. We'll give this a f–king try, right?'
Love then crashed through revved-up takes on Cheap Trick's 1977 power pop classic 'He's a Whore' and the 1979 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers tune 'Even the Losers' and, according to NME, came back for an encore of Cheap Trick's iconic 'Surrender.'
In 2021, she also surprised fans with a rendition of Britney Spears' 'Lucky,' and in 2017, she took on Selena Gomez's 'Hands to Myself.'
Love's surprise cover comes as Dylan remains a focal point of discussion in music and film circles. The legendary singer-songwriter was recently reported to have declined an invitation to perform and present at the 2025 Oscars. His biopic A Complete Unknown received eight nominations but did not secure any wins.
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