The final Outlaw Music Festival show took place last night (September 19), and it seems it’s a fairly standard set from Bob Dylan.
The veteran songwriter had been a part of the Outlaw Music Festival line-up for much of the year, pausing his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour to perform on the same bill as Willie Nelson. Billy Strings and Sheryl Crow were also featured on the line-up. Dylan’s time on the festival circuit comes to an end now, a month before he’s set to perform across Europe. He’ll play the fortieth anniversary of the Farm Aid festival today (September 20) and begin his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour in Europe on October 16 in Helsinki, Finland. Though there have been some surprises on the Outlaw Music Festival tour, it seems the setlist is identical to previous days.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t any outstanding moments, though, with Dylan performing some of his best songs and a collection of covers. A full setlist for the 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)
- Blind Willie McTell
- Soon After Midnight
- Highway 61 Revisited
- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
Dylan has gone to extra lengths on these last tours to obscure himself from the view of attendees on some dates. Some fans were annoyed they could not see the performer, while others praised the “great show” Dylan put on from behind a light up tree on top of a baby grand piano.
A person who attended the show took to the r/BobDylan subreddit and shared: “I really, really enjoyed the show. A lot of people seemed pissed that they couldn’t see him — I think Bob is just sick of people treating these shows like photo shoots, which I respect — but his singing was phenomenal, and the band was sharp as ever.
“I thought it was fascinating that the guitarist and bassist played basically the whole set facing Bob at the piano rather than the audience. They were probably just watching his hands for the chord changes, since Bob seems to play in his own time signature — a time signature that changes whenever he wants it to — but it made for a really unique experience. Almost like watching them jam rather than perform.
“As hokey as it sounds, it felt like they were playing fully in service of the music rather than the crowd. Some people may find this disappointing, but it worked for me. I like it when artists antagonise the audience a little bit.”
