Hotels for Bob Dylan

A songwriter still touring deep into his ninth decade, working through a setlist shaped by his own restless late-career instincts rather than nostalgia. Expect a band-led sound, a voice that has changed shape more than once over sixty years, and an audience that skews older and knows better than to expect the hits played straight.

Thursday evening slots this into a working week, so the crowd tends to arrive straight from the office and settle in for something closer to a recital than a rock show. He rarely explains a song before or after playing it, which is very much the point.

An indoor arena within Birmingham's sprawling NEC complex, bp pulse LIVE hosts concerts, comedy and live events beside the exhibition halls on the city's eastern edge. The setting is a self-contained events campus, with on-site hotels, restaurants and lakeside walks rather than a traditional high street.

Birmingham International station and the nearby airport make arrivals straightforward, with fast trains into the centre. Booking a room on or near the complex lets you walk to the show and avoid the post-event car-park crawl.