Bob Dylan fans were left disappointed after the veteran songwriter failed to include a track he had never performed before.
The songwriter, 84, performed the final Spring 2026 show last night (May 1) in Abilene, Texas. The Rough and Rowdy Ways album dominated the setlist, with all but one of the songs featured across the last five years of Dylan‘s touring. The omission of the album’s final song, Murder Most Foul, may not be a surprise to some, but attendees and Dylan fans were hoping to hear it at some point on the tour. A post to the r/BobDylan subreddit reads: “The last Rough and Rowdy Ways show is tonight (presumably). Murder Most Foul?” Dylan did not play Murder Most Foul, a seventeen-minute-long song detailing the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
A full setlist for the Abilene Auditorium show can be found below.
- To Be Alone With You
- Man in the Long Black Coat
- All Along the Watchtower
- I Contain Multitudes
- False Prophet
- Black Rider
- Love Sick
- Goodbye Jimmy Reed
- I Can Tell (Bo Diddley cover)
- I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You
- Crossing the Rubicon
- When I Paint My Masterpiece
- Forgetful Heart
- Soon After Midnight
- Nervous Breakdown (Eddie Cochran cover)
- Every Grain of Sand
Unlikely it was for Dylan to feature Murder Most Foul, some fans recall hoping to hear the song during previous shows. One listener writing in the hopeful Reddit thread shared: “That’s what we thought in Austin two years ago…”
Another added that “Austin ‘24, Royal Albert Hall ‘24, Williamsport ‘25, Dublin ‘25” were moments that they thought Dylan would finally perform the song. Murder Most Foul has never been performed by Dylan on stage, joining the likes of Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, Winterlude, and No Time to Think as songs Dylan has written but never performed live.
The Abilene show follows a dispute among fans as to the lyrics of When I Paint My Masterpiece. One fan wrote: “Superb, my first Dylan show. His 4-piece touring band is the tightest group I’ve ever heard.
“The whole set (almost exactly 90 minutes long) was without a pause except for one bar, in tempo, between each song to allow for some applause and every number was, in true Dylan fashion, refashioned into something new. He reached back as far as Oh Mercy (The Man in the Long Black Coat) and Time Out of Mind (Love Sick ) while still playing most of the tracks off Rough and Rowdy Ways.
“At the end Bob (in white hoodie) signalled that the show was over by standing up from behind the keyboard and turning his back to the audience. Then he came toward the front of the stage and faced the audience, briefly raising his arms maybe two and a half inches in a very slight benediction. Then he lowered his arms and was gone.”
In a comment from the original poster, they added: “I forgot to mention that he also did When I Paint My Masterpiece, which was under discussion here a while ago. I could swear that on the bridge he sang, ‘Sailing round the world in a crimson Corolla…’ Was this a hallucination, or did I hear this? Phenomenal to hear this song live, in any case.”
Attendees also believe Dylan could have said something along the lines of “crimson Corolla,” though others have noted it could have just been misheard by some in the audience. One wrote: “Thanks for sharing. Man, I really hope someone verifies ‘crimson Corolla’ for you.”
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