Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Neil Young’s Highway 61 Revisited performance hailed as ‘badass’ by fans

A star-studded performance of Highway 61 Revisited featuring Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young has been called “badass” by listeners.

The Bob Dylan classic has been covered countless times, but the veteran songwriter was joined by The Boss and one-quarter of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young for a defiant performance of the track. A performance at the Roseland Ballroom in 1994 set the stage for Dylan, Springsteen, and Young’s performance, which has been hailed by those commenting on a YouTube upload of the performance. The sixteen-song set featured some of Dylan’s most popular songs, with Boots of Spanish Leather and Maggie’s Farm also featuring in the setlist. Springsteen and Young would also join Dylan for a performance of Rainy Day Women #12 & 35.

The performance, which is available on YouTube, was described as “fucking badass” by one fan. Another added that, Springsteen, Young, and the rest of the band fell in line behind Dylan’s lead extremely well. They wrote: “Terrific band. Bob leads, they track him well.”

Dylan would frequently feature special guests in the final stages of his show from 1994 onwards. Patti Smith and Elvis Costello would also feature in shows shortly after this one, with Costello joining for a performance of I Shall Be Released in 1999. A full setlist for the Roseland Ballroom show can be found below.

• Jokerman
• If You See Her, Say Hello
• All Along the Watchtower
• Simple Twist of Fate
• Tangled Up in Blue
• Positively 4th Street
• Mama, You Been on My Mind
• The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
• Boots of Spanish Leather
• God Knows
• Joey
• Maggie’s Farm
• Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine
• My Back Pages
• Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (with Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young)
• Highway 61 Revisited (with Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young)

Young has made his love for Dylan’s work clear in the past, saying the Mr. Tambourine Man songwriter is “the master”. Young would make this clear in an interview with Time Magazine, as the Like a Hurricane songwriter would say the poetry of Dylan’s music is crucial in wanting to be like him.

Young said: “He’s the master. If I’d like to be anyone, it’s him. And he’s a great writer, true to his music and done what he feels is the right thing to do for years and years and years. The guy has written some of the greatest poetry and put it to music in a way that it touched me, and other people have done that, but not so consistently or as intensely.”

Young and Dylan would cross over on stage countless times over the decades, notably when backed by The Band at Kezar Stadium. The performance was lauded by members of the public who attended, and in a review from Cult Following of a bootleg release of the performance. It reads: “This is a trio of musicians who moulded the future of music and the sound they provide here is a plain imitation of that.”

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