The show reunited Dylan with The Band on stage after the recording of Dylan's Band-backed "Planet Waves" album, and was the brainchild of David Geffen, who had lured Dylan to his Arista Records label. Dylan, who by this point in his career had developed a strong interest in his financial position, had been dissatisfied with the terms of his Columbia Records deal. Discussions about a tour took place among Dylan, The Band's guitarist and chief songwriter Robbie Robertson, and Geffen during the summer of 1973. The intent was that Dylan would receive the bulk of the profits from the tour. Graham then booked a series of dates without telling the venues who the artist would be.