Bob Dylan Celebrates St. Patrick’s Day With 1st Performance Of Irish Folk Song In 24 Years

Bob Dylan brought his Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour to the Belk Theatre in Charlotte on Sunday, St. Patrick’s Day. The esteemed singer-songwriter celebrated the occasion by performing Irish folk song, “The Roving Blade,” for the first time in 24 years.

As with most folk songs, the exact origins of “The Roving Blade” are unclear although it appears to have emerged in written form in the late-18th Century. Also like many folk songs, “The Roving Blade” has numerous versions and names, including “The Newry Highwayman,” “Rambling Boy” and “Rude And Rambling Man” among others.

Renowned Irish folk group The Dubliners recorded one of the most well-known modern versions of the song in 1963, around the same time Bob Dylan was becoming a folk star.

Bob debuted his version of “The Roving Blade” on July 1, 1992 in Reims, France, as per BobDylan.com. He performed it in Belfast, Northern Ireland on June 19, 1998. The last time Dylan delivered the song came on St. Patrick’s Day 2000 in Reno, Nevada before breaking it out once again in Charlotte last night — marking his fourth performance of the tune.

While no audio of Bob Dylan’s most recent “Roving Blade” performance has surfaced, to get a feel for Bob’s version, listen to audio of the last time he performed the song on St. Patrick’s Day 2000 below via neverending Bobfan.

While Dylan and his band — guitarist Doug Lancio, bassist Tony Garnier, drummer Jerry Pentecost, guitarist Bob Britt and multi-instrumentalist Donnie Herron — stuck close to their Rough and Rowdy Ways setlist, Bob did include his recently unearthed cover of Johnny Cash’s “Big River” in Charlotte just ahead of “The Roving Blade.”

Additional favorites included opener “Watching The River Flow,” “When I Paint My Masterpiece” and “Gotta Serve Somebody” along with nine of the 10 tracks on Dylan’s 2020 album, Rough and Rowdy Ways.

Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour continues tonight in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Find his full tour routing with ticket info below.