Watch: Bob Dylan, 84, Kicks Off 2026 Tour with Major Setlist Changes and Classic Cover

Bob Dylan opened the 2026 leg of his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour on Saturday night at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, delivering a performance filled with unexpected musical changes and rare song selections. The concert marked a noticeable shift from recent tour formats, both in staging and song choices, giving longtime fans a different look at the legendary performer’s live approach.

Instead of relying heavily on material from Rough and Rowdy Ways, Dylan reduced the number of songs from the album to six, compared with the usual nine performed in previous shows. He also removed his familiar grand piano setup, choosing instead to perform behind a small keyboard placed at center stage. Guitarists Bob Britt and Doug Lancio played acoustic instruments throughout the night, creating a softer sound. An electric guitar remained visible on Dylan’s amplifier but was never used during the performance.

A Setlist Filled With Surprises

The concert began with “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight,” a song that has regularly opened recent shows. The direction of the evening changed quickly when Dylan performed “The Man in the Long Black Coat,” a track from his 1989 album Oh Mercy, for the first time since 2013. The unexpected return of the song stood out as one of the night’s highlights.

Other selections added variety to the setlist. Dylan included “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” along with Bo Diddley’s “I Can Tell,” which he had mainly performed during Outlaw Festival appearances in recent years. The biggest surprise arrived near the end of the show when Dylan debuted Eddie Cochran’s 1958 rock and roll song “Nervous Breakdown,” marking the first time he had ever performed it live. Although phones were banned inside the venue, audience members later shared clear audio recordings captured during the concert.

Changes From Recent Performances

Dylan’s previous U.S. performances took place during the final leg of the Outlaw Festival tour in September 2025. Those concerts drew attention for unusual staging choices, including Dylan wearing a tightly pulled hoodie and positioning bright lights and a music stand near his piano, which made it difficult for audiences to see his face. He never publicly explained the decision, though many observers linked it to audience filming at large outdoor venues where phone restrictions were harder to enforce.

In Omaha, fans had a clear view of Dylan throughout the evening, though the performance was not without technical issues. “[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.”