On a jingle jangle Tuesday evening in Phoenix (5/13), Bob Dylan brought it all back home when he played his 60-year-old hit, "Mr. Tambourine Man" for the first time in 15 years.
The occasion was the kickoff of the 10th anniversary of the Outlaw Music Festival which stars the 83-year-old Dylan and 92-year-old Willie Nelson.
The openers are just as exciting and depending on the night may include Billy Strings, Wilco, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Sheryl Crow, the Avett Brothers, Lake Street Dive, Waxahatchee, Lucinda Williams, Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, Trampled By Turtles, the Mavericks or others.
Dusting off his 1965 folk treasure was not the only pleasant surprise he delivered to the attendees of the Talking Stick Resort this week, he drastically re-arranged his set, turning the page from the typically rigid Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour setlists.
Over the 250 gigs Dylan played on that tour that spanned from 2021-2025, the Bard usually performed 9 of the 10 songs from the Rough and Rowdy LP.
Because he's Bob Dylan, the only song he refused to play from the album was the only #1 hit he's ever had, the 17-minute "Murder Most Foul."
Over the last four years, half of Dylan's set was from his latest record. Not counting live records, cover albums, bootlegs, and greatest hits, the former Robert Zimmerman has released 40 original studio albums. To barrage audiences for four years with ones newest one, when there are at least a dozen many consider to be classics... is demanding a lot of the people.
So to change it around, in what we hope is a new direction, is a breath of fresh air.
But as great as it was that he played "Mr. Tambourine Man," there were three other songs that really popped the other night in the desert... and they were both covers, ironically.
The first was such an obscure Blues nugget that it doesn't even exist in our database: George “Wild Child” Butler's "Axe and the Wind."
The tune is a 1968 Chicago blues hidden gem that sometimes gets credited to Willie Dixon because the guitarist put Butler's song on a compilation. But that harmonica and vocal is all Wild Child's.
Sadly many in the audience this week had never heard of it so there's just this recording of it, which is why you should always video every song, upload it and even if you don't know the title, leave your comments open because the crowd will help.
Another magical moment was the show closer, the tender Pogues tune "Rainy Night in SoHo."
The Irish band's singer Shane MacGowan was a huge fan of Dylan, his sister acknowledged in a tweet on Wednesday morning when she heard the legend had covered it.
"When I was a kid I listened to the constant sound of Bob Dylan playing in Shane’s room," Siobhan MacGowan wrote. "This would mean the world to him."
At Shane's funeral in 2023, Nick Cave performed the beautiful song at St. Mary of the Rosary Church in Nenagh, County Tipperary, Ireland.
Bob had great respect for Shane and the Pogues and had played their music on his incredible radio show Theme Time Radio Hour.
"He's performed some of the most interesting Irish music over the past few years," Dylan said introducing one of the several songs he blessed his audience with. This week was the first time he ever covered the band himself.
The third cover that no one saw coming was "I'll Make It All Up To You," which was written by Charlie Rich but first performed by Jerry Lee Lewis.
It was the B-side of Lewis's 1958 single "Break Up" on Sun Records.
And yes, these are the chestnuts we'd all rather here than the Rough and Rowdy Ways tunes that he'd been banging out for the last 250 shows. Thank you.
Friday the Outlaw Festival returns to the Hollywood Bowl. It'll be the sixth time Dylan has performed beneath the iconic bandshell.
Will he continue to play around with the set and delight the fans with obscure and beautiful numbers?
Tickets available on Bob's website.
Outlaw Music Festival 2025
May 16, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
May 18, 2025 – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre
May 20, 2025 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
May 22, 2025 – Spokane, WA – ONE Spokane Stadium
May 24, 2025 – Ridgefield, WA – Cascades Amphitheater
May 25, 2025 – Quincy, WA – The Gorge Amphitheatre
June 20, 2025 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
June 21, 2025 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
June 22, 2025 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
June 25, 2025 – Franklin, TN – FirstBank Amphitheater
June 27, 2025 – Memphis, TN – Radians Amphitheater
June 28, 2025 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
June 29, 2025 – Ridgedale, MO – ThunderRidge Nature Arena
July 01, 2025 – El Reno, OK – Lucky Star Amphitheater
July 05, 2025 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
July 06, 2025 – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
July 25, 2025 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
July 26, 2025 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
July 27, 2025 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park
July 29, 2025 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
August 01, 2025 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
August 02, 2025 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Broadview Stage at SPAC
August 03, 2025 – Gilford, NH – BankNH Pavilion
August 08, 2025 – Buffalo, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
August 09, 2025 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
August 10, 2025 – Syracuse, NY – Empower FCU Amphitheater at Lakeview
September 05, 2025 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheater
September 06, 2025 – Hartford, CT – Xfinity Theatre
September 07, 2025 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
September 12, 2025 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
September 13, 2025 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
September 14, 2025 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
September 18, 2025 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
September 19, 2025 – East Troy, WI – Alpine Valley Music Theatre
