Hear Bob Dylan Debut Dwight Yoakam Cover In Cincinnati

Bob Dylan brought his Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour to Cincinnati’s Brady Music Center on Friday. The trend of Dylan doing locale-appropriate tunes for the fall trek continued as Bob unveiled a cover of Dwight Yoakam’s “South Of Cincinnati.”

It’s been an eventful fall for Bob Dylan. In late September, the vaunted singer-songwriter made a surprise appearance at Farm Aid where he broke out a number of classic songs and played electric guitar backed by members of The Heartbreakers.

Dylan then kicked off the North American fall leg of his Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour with “Kansas City” in Kansas City. Penned by legendary songwriting tandem Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the tune was originally recorded by Little Willie Littlefield in 1952 and popularized by a number of artists including Little Richard, The Beatles and James Brown. Dylan’s performance of the rhythm & blues classic on October 1 was his second take on the song and first in over 35 years.

Bob then headed on to St. Louis where he honored the Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll Chuck Berry with “Johnny B. Goode” and “Nadine (Is It You?), with the latter popping up on a setlist in Indianapolis where he also nodded to Indiana’s own John Mellencamp. In Chicago, Dylan debuted songs from blues greats Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf.

The Cincy stop saw Bob Dylan and his band — guitarist Doug Lancio, bassist Tony Garnier, drummer Jerry Pentecost, guitarist Bob Britt and multi-instrumentalist Donnie Herron (violin, electric mandolin, steel guitar) — premiering Dwight Yoakam’s “South Of Cincinnati” toward the end of the set. The song originally appears on the renowned singer-songwriter and actor’s 1986 debut album, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. Yoakam hails from Pikeville, Kentucky about three and half hours southeast of Cincinnati.

Listen to Bob Dylan debut “South Of Cincinnati” via neverending Bobfan below:

Other than the Yoakam nod, Dylan stuck close to his Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour setlist opening with “Watching The River Flow” and including classics like “Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine,” “When I Paint My Masterpiece,” “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” and “Gotta Serve Somebody.” Dylan also delivered nearly all of his 2020 album Rough and Rowdy Ways, save for the epic “A Murder Most Foul,” closing the concert with the LP’s “Every Grain Of Sand.”

Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour continues tonight in Erie, Pennsylvania. Check out his itinerary and ticket info below: