Bob Dylan launched the 2026 leg of his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour Saturday evening at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha, Nebraska. He made some big changes by playing six Rough and Rowdy Ways songs as opposed to the usual nine, ditching his grand piano in favor of a tiny keyboard in the center of the stage, and rearranging the music by having guitarists Bob Britt and Doug Lancio play acoustic instead of electric. An electric guitar sat on Dylan’s amp all night, but he never touched it.
The night began in standard Rough and Rowdy Ways fashion with “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight,” but veered off course right afterwards when Dylan broke out Oh Mercy‘s “The Man in the Long Black Coat” for the first time since 2013. Songs like “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” and Bo Diddley’s “I Can Tell” – which he’s only played at Outlaw Festival shows in recent years – were sprinkled into the set. And the biggest surprise came near the end when he played Eddie Cochran’s 1958 classic “Nervous Breakdown” for the first time in his history as a live performer. Phones were banned from the show, and no video has emerged, but fans did manage to capture clean audio recordings.
Dylan last played in America on the final leg of the Outlaw Festival tour in September 2025. These were supremely odd shows, even by Dylan standards, where he wore a hoodie tight over his head, placed a music stand and bright lights near his piano, and therefore made it virtually impossible for people in the audience to see his face. He never explained why he did this, but it’s almost certainly related to the fans filming and taking photos throughout the summer. (At his headline shows in theaters, he’s able to force fans to place phones in pouches at the door. That wasn’t viable at the large outdoor amphitheaters that Outlaw hit.)
Fans in Omaha on Saturday night had a clear view of him throughout the night. But there were still some rough patches. “[It was] the roughest concert of the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour,” reads a report by Matt Simonsen on Ray Padgett’s Flagging Down the Double E’s newsletter. “We should all say a prayer for the roadie who placed Bob’s microphone tonight, because Bob was too far from it when he sat, uncomfortable when he leaned into it, and picked it up and plopped it down about 10 times throughout the night (each time it emitted a louder boom than the time before). In fact, the loudest instrument of the night was the microphone stand as it hit the stage floor! Bob’s voice may sound weak on the recordings when they come out, but he sounded really good when he was comfortable with the microphone. At other times we couldn’t hear him well due to the distance between him and the mic.”
Dylan’s spring tour resumes Sunday night at Mary W. Sommervold Hall in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It wraps up May 1 at Abilene Auditorium in Abilene, Texas. He’s playing additional U.S. shows this summer, but the only dates he’s announced so far are June 6 and 7 at Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville, Washington, and July 2 at the WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma.
From Rolling Stone US
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