Bob Dylan performed two songs from the Basement Tapes that he hadn't played in decades during the opening nights of his summer tour. Two nights in, the legend is drawing from material that has been largely absent from his setlists—and fans are responding with intense interest.
On the opening night in Woodinville, Washington, Dylan opened with "Baby, Won't You Be My Baby," a track he hasn't performed since recording it 59 years ago. For devoted Dylan listeners, this was an unexpected moment.
The second night brought another Basement Tapes song: "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere"—the well-known track covered by everyone from the Byrds to Tom Petty, but one Dylan himself hadn't performed live since 2012. That's 14 years since his last performance of it.
The second show also featured guitarists Doug Lancio and Bob Britt adding harmony vocals to the opening number, a practice Dylan abandoned over 20 years ago. It was a band dynamic fans thought had been retired.
The rest of the Woodinville setlist stayed mostly consistent between the two nights, though Dylan swapped out a Bo Diddley cover and added "Lovesick" into the mix. Supporting acts included Lucinda Williams and the John Doe Folk Trio, with Doe pulling deep cuts from his band X and performing Judy Garland's "Over the Rainbow."
The tour, now officially dubbed the Long Hot Summer Tour 2026, runs through August 1 in Nashville. Dylan's willingness to draw from the Basement Tapes archives has fans wondering what other obscure material might surface before the tour ends.
The chances of him playing additional deep cuts like "Goin' to Acapulco" or "Sign on the Cross" remain uncertain—but then again, a live "Baby, Won't You Be My Baby" seemed unlikely until it happened.
