Protest song Masters of War was re-introduced to Bob Dylan‘s setlist for the first time in nine years at an Outlaw Music Festival date.
The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan song had last been performed in 2016 for a single outing at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. To find the last time Masters of War was a common selection for the setlist, listeners would have to go back to 2010, when Dylan performed the song sixteen times on tour. Masters of War served as the opening song to Dylan’s Outlaw Music Festival tour slot at the Darien Centre in New York. The rest of the setlist remains relatively similar to previous performances, though Dylan has been slowly changing a handful of songs. The veteran songwriter has played several of his biggest and best songs on this tour, with some being performed for the first time in over a decade.
Masters of War featured as the first song of the night, replacing the equally rare Positively 4th Street, a song Dylan had only performed five times in fifteen years before its return to the setlist. Positively 4th Street also featured in the setlist last night. A full setlist from the Darien Center show can be found below.
- Masters of War
- I Can Tell (Bo Diddley cover)
- 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)
- Positively 4th Street
- Highway 61 Revisited
- Blind Willie McTell
- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
Dylan has changed several songs on his Outlaw Music Festival setlist since the tour began. A few rarities from his discography have also featured, with Positively 4th Street played on consecutive nights for the first time since 2007. It also marks the fifth time it has been performed this year, with Dylan last introducing the song to his set in 2023. Before that, audiences would not have heard the Like a Rolling Stone follow-up since 2013.
Mr. Tambourine Man also returned to the stage, a one-off appearance of the song featured at a show in Phoenix. This was paired with the first Forgetful Heart performance since 2015 and the first To Ramona since 2017. A setlist for the Phoenix show can be found below.
- I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
- It Ain’t Me, Babe
- Forgetful Heart
- Axe and the Wind (George Butler cover)
- To Ramona
- Route 66 (Bobby Troup cover)
- 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
- Under the Red Sky
- Scarlet Town
- A Rainy Night in Soho (The Pogues cover)
