What Bob Dylan played at Outlaw Music Festival date in Holmdel, New Jersey

An unchanged setlist saw veteran performer Bob Dylan play hits from his discography and a handful of covers in Holmdel, New Jersey.

His final few dates on the Outlaw Music Festival tour seem to be filled with a consistency for the setlist which was not seen in earlier shows. There were no changes to the set between this Holmdel show on September 13 and the previous show in Camden the previous night. There are still reasons to be excited about the setlist though, with Dylan keeping the likes of Masters of War, Highway 61 Revisited, and Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right in the setlist. Also featured are pieces like Under the Red Sky and Early Roman Kings. This Holmdel set marks one of the final on Dylan’s Outlaw Music Festival tour.

His Rough and Rowdy Ways tour is set to continue across Europe and the United Kingdom next month. Dylan has been performing some of his biggest hits and a handful of deep cuts on these Outlaw Music Festival shows, which see him on the same bill as Willie Nelson and Sheryl Crow. A setlist for his show in Holmdel, New Jersey, 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. 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.”

Dylan has just three dates left on the Outlaw Music Festival, with shows scheduled for tonight (September 14), as well as September 18, and September 19.

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