Bob Dylan Tour In Jeopardy Following Morrison Cancellation

Following the abrupt, and as yet unexplained, decision by Van Morrison to pull out of a co-headlining tour of the West Coast with Bob Dylan, concert promoters are scrambling to salvage the dates by replacing Morrison with a compatible act who can sell enough tickets to help Dylan fill the 18 to 20,000 seat arenas booked for the run.

At least one promoter, Universal Concerts Canada, has officially canceled their date, May 14th (which would have been the first night of the tour), issuing a statement that said, "Due to unforeseen difficulties in routing these two artists together, the Bob Dylan / Van Morrison show has been canceled." The statement added that Dylan would be touring through the summer and may return to Vancouver.

Rumors have placed Joni Mitchell at the head of the list of possible replacements, though none of the promoters contacted by Live! Daily could confirm whether she would do the tour. A spokesman at Mitchell's management office responded to reports of her involvement with, "I have no idea where this is coming from. No comment." Sources close to the negotiations did, however, confirm that representatives for Mitchell were close to an agreement and that an announcement would be likely by Wednesday morning.