Bob Dylan’s violinist not waiting for Tom Waits

The story of the Waiting for Waits festival is that it started in 2001 with the hope that Tom Waits might one day come and play in Mallorca.

He didn’t. They’re still waiting. In 2008, when the American singer was playing in Bilbao, a copy of the poster for that year’s festival was sent to his hotel. It was the closest they got, which wasn’t very close, as he didn’t respond.

Women don’t Wait for Waits is a jokey title for an ongoing series of concerts that are the legacy of the festival. The ethos for the concerts has remained unchanged - music-loving events without distractions such as bars or big stages. A number of the acts who have appeared in recent times have been British folk singers.

The latest concert finds a legendary American violinist in Palma. Scarlet Rivera was a pioneer of the electric violin in rock music. Bob Dylan recognised her outstanding talent and she played on a number of his albums as well as on tour with him. Waiting for Waits used to expect artists to perform one Tom Waits song. Scarlet Rivera may well do, but she is also going to sing some Dylan.