On July 25, 1965, Bob Dylan plugged in and performed live with an electric guitar and an amplified rock and roll band for the first time ever. It would be stretching things to say this moment forever changed history, but its impact on the folk music scene and its influence on popular music cannot be overstated.
For the 60th anniversary of this momentous occasion, the Bob Dylan Center sponsored a concert at the historic Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on July 26, 2025.. An all-star cast of musicians performed songs by Bob Dylan from that era.
Led by musical director Lee Renaldo of Sonic Youth, the house band featured Nels Cline (Wilco) on guitar, Ethan Miller (Howlin’ Rain) on bass, Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) on drums, and Mikael Jorgenson (Wilco) on keyboards. Rotating through was a selection of guests, including John Doe (X), Robyn Hitchcock, Emma Swift, Sunny War, Dean & Brita (Luna), plus Joy Harjo, the current artist in residence at the Dylan Center, and Doug Keith, the musical director.
There were actually two shows performed this night, an early show that started at 6:30 and a late performance starting at 9:00. The wife and I opted for the early performance. It would be nice, we thought, to get home from a concert before midnight. And they had seats (a rarity for the Cain’s), and we are old. We’ve attended many concerts at this venue, and while it is one of my favorites, I have to admit its usual standing room only status leaves my back aching by the end of the night.
Things got started with “Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine),” an odd choice since Dylan didn’t debut the song in concert until 1974, but a rollicking one. They played it like those electric songs at Newport – fiercely, like it could veer completely out of control at any minute.
Emma Swift then came out to sing a lovely version of “The Times They Are A-Changin'”.” I gotta admit, folks, I teared up at that one. There was something electric in the air (pun intended, I guess). Everyone seemed to know this was something special. To hear these amazing musicians playing these amazing songs, songs that everybody there knew and loved, was incredible.
There were a couple of more times when the band played the songs like Dylan and his Band back in the early days, but mostly they made them their own.
I didn’t keep notes, so I won’t go through the setlist one by one. I’m not likely to remember who sang what. But I’ll try to give a good overview.
Everyone was clearly excited to be there. These are all busy, working musicians with their own songs to sing, their own tour to play. But they took time out to come celebrate Bob Dylan. Renaldo especially seemed to be having the time of his life. You could see him lip synching along, off-mike, to many of the songs as someone else took the vocals.
I’m a very casual fan of Luna, so I wouldn’t have been able to pick Dean & Brita out of a lineup, but as soon as he started to sing, I realized immediately who they were. They did their songs like duets. Their version of “Just Like a Woman” was especially sweet and beautiful.
I’m not particularly well-versed in John Doe or X, but he exuded an old-school cool on his two songs, and he was one of the only ones who actually spoke to the audience.
I’m not familiar with Sunny War at all, but she laid it down for “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” the only one of the night to do any kind of Dylan impression. She seemed quite shy, slipping on and off the stage like she hoped nobody would notice her.
I’m sure Joy Harjo is a fine poet, but she’s not a great singer. She was way off key, loud, and honestly, just bad. She sang like a poet, using her own rhythms and phrasings. I’m not opposed to that, Dylan often messes with the phrasings of his songs, but she couldn’t seem to quite get all the words out of her mouth before the music had moved on. And in songs like “Mr. Tambourine Man” when there are a lot of words, that just came out awful.
All of the other guests came out on a rotating basis, but the legendary Robyn Hitchcock played his two songs one right after the other. He played a terrific version of “Highway 61 Revisited” and then absolutely nailed “Desolation Row” with just him and Nels Cline on the stage. He called it one of the greatest songs ever written and “also one of the longest.” But he got all the lyrics just exactly perfect, and I never saw him once look at the teleprompter. Again, this was a group of musicians who just love the songs of Bob Dylan.
MVP of the night was Nels Cline. I’ve seen him multiple times with Wilco (several times at this venue) and at least once in those shows I’ll turn to my wife and say “Nels Fucking Cline!” – usually just after a mind-melting solo. The man is an absolute beast on guitar. This night he was more subdued, and more nuanced. On the big rock songs he jammed with the best of him, but on the softer ballads, he added beautiful textures and on “Desolation Ro,w” his took an acoustic guitar and made perfect Spanish sounding melodies. He was the only musician to stay on state the entire night.
But really the entire band was first-rate – world-class musicians filled with joy, playing music they love. This was not necessarily the greatest concert I’ve ever attended but it was probably the most fun I’ve ever had.
Everybody came out at the end for “Like a Rolling Stone.” It was an obvious choice – Renaldo even said so, while Hitchcock quipped (at least its not “Forever Young”). It was a fine version with everyone getting a verse and with faces filled with joy.
You can see the full setlist here.
themidnightcafe.org 