Bob Dylan performs The Times They Are A-Changin’ for first time in 15 years at Outlaw Music Festival show

Bob Dylan has reintroduced The Times They Are A-Changin’ to his setlist for the first time in fifteen years.

The veteran songwriter is currently on the Outlaw Music Festival tour and made the first change to his summer setlist last night (June 25). A date in Franklin, Tennessee, had Dylan perform the title track of his third studio album for the first time since 2010. No further setlist changes were made to the performance, which featured hits from across his decades-spanning discography and a handful of cover songs. The Outlaw Music Festival tour is set to last until September 19. As of today, there are no further dates planned by Dylan, though fans believe he will continue the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, or even release new material.

Dylan played the song just once in 2010, at a performance held at the White House. The last public performance of the song was given in Chukchansi Park, Fresno, in August 2009. A full setlist for the Outlaw Music Festival show in Franklin, Tennessee can be found below.

• Gotta Serve Somebody
• The Times They Are A-Changin’ (First performance since 2010)
• Forgetful Heart
• Axe and the Wind (George Butler cover)
• To Ramona
• Early Roman Kings
• Under the Red Sky
• I’ll Make It All Up To You (Charlie Rich cover)
• All Along the Watchtower
• ‘Til I Fell in Love With You
• Desolation Row
• Love Sick
• Share Your Love With Me (Bobby Bland cover)
• Blind Willie McTell
• Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right

The setlist thrilled fans when the Outlaw Music Festival began earlier this year, with listeners initially unsure of which song Axe and the Wind was. The first performance of the show had dedicated Dylan fans spend hours working out what the song was. They eventually discovered it was a cover of the Butler number.

Dylan’s first Outlaw Music Festival show setlist of the year is rather different to the songs which are now recurring in his summer set. A list of songs Dylan performed on the May 13 tour date can be found below, with the likes of To Ramona and Scarlet Town performed.

• I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
• It Ain’t Me, Babe
• Forgetful Heart (first time live since 2015)
• Axe and the Wind (George Butler cover)
• To Ramona (first time live since 2017)
• Route 66 (Bobby Troup cover – first time live since 1986)
• All Along the Watchtower
• I’ll Make It All Up to You (Charlie Rich cover)
• It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
• Mr. Tambourine Man (first time live since 2010)
• Under the Red Sky
• Scarlet Town
• A Rainy Night in Soho (The Pogues cover)

Axe and the Wind confused fans at the time, with some noting even the great setlist master Bill Pagel had not come up with the title of the song immediately after the show finished. The show offered a series of songs from Dylan which had not been performed in years, including Mr. Tambourine Man.