Bob Dylan plays set of surprise ’50s covers and deep cuts on ‘Outlaw Music Festival Tour’ opener

23 June, 2024

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan kicked off the ‘Outlaw Music Festival Tour’ this weekend with a typically unpredictable setlist of ‘50s blues and country covers and deep cuts – watch footage below.

The music icon has garnered a reputation for idiosyncratic setlist choices – fans in Atlanta and Charlotte were once again caught off guard by his decision to indulge in choice cuts from years gone by over fan favourites.

The opening night included versions of Willie Dixon’s ‘My Babe’, Chuck Berry’s ‘Little Queenie’ and Hank Williams’ ‘Cold, Cold Heart’, as well as four separate songs from his own 2012 album ‘Tempest’, including ‘Long And Wasted Years’ and ‘Scarlet Town’.

That set also included more classic Dylan cuts such as ‘Simple Twist Of Fate’ and ‘Things Have Changed’, while the second night in Charlotte also included ‘Ballad Of A Thin Man’, ‘I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight’ and ‘Highway 61 Revisited’.

The curious inclusion of songs from the ‘Tempest’ album was further highlighted after fans spotted T-shirts promoting the album’s 2012 tour on sale at the festival’s merch booth.

It is a joint headline tour with Willie Nelson, although the country legend was forced to withdraw from the opening three nights “on doctor’s orders”.

The 91-year-old missed the Atlanta and Charlotte shows, and will also miss tonight’s (June 23) in Raleigh.

“We regret to inform you that Willie Nelson is not feeling well and, per doctor’s orders, has been advised to rest for the next four days,” read a statement on social media. “He is expected to make a quick recovery and join the Outlaw Music Festival tour next week.”

“In the meantime, Lukas Nelson and the Family Band, along with a few guests, will perform a special set to include Willie’s classics and other songs.”

The tour was announced in February, a run of 26 dates around North America that is set to last until September. Performances by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, John Mellencamp, Billy Strings, Brittney Spencer, and Celisse will also occur at select dates.

Visit here for tickets and check out the full list of tour dates here.

Dylan’s instincts to keep fans guessing were met by a heckle in March, when a woman shouted, “Play something we know!”

At the Fort Lauderdale show, the musician looked her in the eye and immediately launched into a new arrangement of his 1971 track ‘When I Paint My Masterpiece’ in which he sang the lyrics to the tune of Irving Berlin’s ‘Puttin’ On The Ritz’.

A biopic of Dylan’s life, named A Complete Unknown, is in production, with Timothée Chalamet taking on the lead role. Footage has emerged of Chalamet filming scenes opposite Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, and Edward Norton as Pete Seeger.

The movie is set to explore Dylan’s transition to using the electric guitar in the ’60s, his rise to fame, and his subsequent achievement of icon status in the folk-rock music industry.

It was confirmed by director James Mangold last year that Chalamet will sing in A Complete Unknown, with the actor having showcased his vocal abilities in the recent musical movie Wonka.

In a recent interview with NME alongside his Dune: Part Two co-star Austin Butler, Chalamet said he would have liked Butler’s version of Elvis Presley, from the Baz Luhrmann hit Elvis, to appear in A Complete Unknown.

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