Bob Dylan setlist 2025: What he sang at Willie Nelson's Outlaw tour launch in Phoenix
Bob Dylan was full of surprises when he brought his band to Phoenix on Tuesday, May 13, as part of Willie Nelson's Outlaw Music Festival 2025 at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre.
Most recent setlists have been focused on his latest album, 2020's 'Rough and Rowdy Ways,' which made the rounds of year-end critics' lists while being singled out as album of the year by Ultimate Classic Rock, Uncut and Mojo.
But this was another side of Bob Dylan, complete with two songs early in the set from the criminally underrated "Another Side of Bob Dylan." He's been doing "It Ain't Me Babe" on the regular, but this set also featured "To Ramona" for the first time since 2017.
He also did "Forgetful Heart" from "Together Through Life" for the first time since 2015 and "Mr. Tambourine Man" for the first time since 2010 as well as two songs from "John Wesley Harding" (the set-opening "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" and "All Along the Watchtower") and "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" from "Highway 61 Revisited."
He also did covers of "Route 66" (first time since 1986), "I'll Make It All Up To You" (a Jerry Lee Lewis song written by Charlie Rich) and "A Rainy Night in Soho" by the Pogues.
Here's what Bob Dylan sang on opening night of the Willie Nelson Outlaw Festival Tour 2025 in Phoenix, according to fans who saw the show, as shared online:
"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"
"It Ain't Me Babe"
"Forgetful Heart" (first time since 2015)
"Axe and the Wind" (George "Wild Child" Butler cover; live debut)
"To Ramona" (first time since 2017)
"Route 66" (Bobby Troup cover; first time since 1986)
"All Along the Watchtower"
"I'll Make It All Up To You" (Jerry Lee Lewis cover; live debut)
"It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry"
"Mr. Tambourine Man" (first time since 2010)
"Under the Red Sky"
"Scarlet Town"
"A Rainy Night in Soho" (Pogues cover; live debut)
Ed has covered pop music for The Republic since 2007, reviewing festivals and concerts, interviewing legends, covering the local scene and more. He did the same in Pittsburgh for more than a decade. Follow him on X and Instagram @edmasley and on Facebook as Ed Masley. Email him at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Bob Dylan setlist: Outlaw Music Festival 2025 songs
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