7 September 2024
It was a night of legends amid the rolling green hills of western Wisconsin. Few figures in the music industry have had careers of greater length and sustained popularity than Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan, each adopting their own form of folk to find a following that they’ve each sustained for over 60 years.
Nelson is 91 and Dylan 83, but they’re both still on the road, bringing their bands along for a package tour called the Outlaw Music Festival. Completing the bill at the Somerset Amphitheater Friday night were a rocker rooted in Americana, John Mellencamp (a virtual pup at age 72), and a very enjoyable Memphis funk band, Southern Avenue. It drew a multigenerational crowd that looked to number around what would fill St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center or Minneapolis’ Target Center.
It’s hard to imagine that many of them found it an unsatisfying show, especially after Nelson and his band, Family, closed the evening with a briskly paced 22-song set. Sure, it only lasted an hour and Nelson recited most lyrics with only a hint of melody, but they were nevertheless emotionally expressive interpretations. And when he broke into an unexpected signature song like “Georgia on My Mind” (a rarity on this tour) or “Always on My Mind,” it felt like an honor to experience it.
The most pleasant surprise of all was what a fine guitarist Nelson remains. The autumn air may have been cool, but the picking was hot, and it sometimes seemed that he was rushing through the mostly spoken lyrics in order to get to another sparkling solo. And each Family member contributed to making the whole set feel like a spontaneous saloon session.
Speaking of mostly spoken lyrics, the same could be said of what Dylan delivered. Winning the Nobel Prize for Literature cemented his status as a brilliant poet who happens to set his creatively crafted words to music, and there were several times during his 80-minute, 16-song set when his lyrics were presented as poetry, the musical elements trimmed to essentials.
And that proved far more rewarding than some past performances during which Dylan mumbled his lyrics, leaving some marvelous messages indecipherable. Friday’s performance left the impression that he’s at last embracing his status as an eloquent orator in song, practically every word crisp and clear, whether sung or spoken.
He delivered them all while seated or standing at the piano, setting aside his trademark guitar stylings in favor of some bluesy boogies (“Early Roman Kings” was a highlight) and beatnik-esque percussive pounding to complement his poetry (“A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” was captivating). And what expressive musicality may have been missing from his singing came forth in his harmonica solos, particularly on “Soon After Midnight” and the set-closing full-blown jam session that was “Ballad of a Thin Man.” This arguably greatest of all songwriters may have performed too many covers for some tastes (four of the 16 songs), but what a lovely version of the Grateful Dead’s “Stella Blue.”
If defying the music industry’s aversion to eclecticism makes this an “outlaw” tour, so be it. The four acts offered four distinctly different styles of American music, with Mellencamp providing the evening’s hardest-rocking material. While his arrangements use a lot of instruments favored by folkies – fiddle, accordion and mandolin (albeit electric) – Friday’s performance made him seem a committed riff rocker raised on the Stones and Who, especially the feisty, fist-pumping trio of “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “Crumblin’ Down” and “Pink Houses.”
Rob Hubbard can be reached at [email protected].
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