July 14, 2019: Neil Young, Bob Dylan Perform Together
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Neil Young and Bob Dylan during their sets at London’s Hyde Park, July 12, 2019
Two days after Bob Dylan and Neil Young shared a 2019 bill at London’s Hyde Park, the pair held a second concert. This time, though, in Kilkenny, Ireland, the two legends performed together for the first time in 25 years. Midway through Dylan’s July 14 set, Young joined him for “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.”
Until the concert at Nowlan Park, the two reportedly hadn’t played together since a 1994 concert at the Roseland Ballroom in New York. Why they didn’t do so at the July 12 concert in London will likely remain a mystery.
Watch them perform “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” in Ireland
At both weekend shows, Young and Dylan performed many of their classic rock favorites.
Young (73 at the time, younger than Dylan by five years), performed first, with Promise of the Real. At the Hyde Park concert, he joked to the audience: “I’ve never played in daylight before. It’s great to see everybody.” His 18-song set included “Heart of Gold,” “Rockin’ in the Free World,” “Old Man,” “Like a Hurricane” and “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.”
Watch “Heart of Gold,” midway through his London set
Related: On the same weekend, two other legends shared the stage for a rare performance together
The original notice for the London concert, when Barclays was still involved
[The announcement of the Hyde Park concert back in November 2018, had caused a ruckus almost immediately from Young. When it was first announced, it was to be part of the British Summer Time concert series, which is presented by Barclays.
Young had complained on his website that he was unaware that the bank was involved with the show and explained why he was unhappy that “the fossil fuel funding company” was attached to it. An agreement was reached and the concert was not sponsored by any single entity.]
“Rockin’ in the Free World” closed Young’s main set.
Watch the first encore, a 10+ minute version of “Like a Hurricane”
Related: Our review of Young at 2016’s Desert Trip
Dylan had been touring Europe during the summer. At London’s Hyde Park, the Bard’s 19-song set included such career favorites as “It Ain’t Me, Babe,” “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Ballad of a Thin Man.”
Watch Dylan perform “Girl From the North Country”
“How does it feeeel?”
Related: Our 2016 review of Dylan
Thanks to MsMonkeybird for the videos.
Watch Dylan, Young and many others at The Last Waltz
Dylan continues his “Rough and Rowdy Ways” tour during 2024’s Outlaw Music Festival; tickets are available here and here.
Young resumed touring in 2023 after pausing during the pandemic. However, while on a scheduled break of his 2024 tour with Crazy Horse, the rest of the run was abruptly canceled. When he returns to the stage, tickets to see him will be available here.
1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationThe “mystery” of why this wasn’t played in Hyde Park, may be that Neil’s longtime (and Bob’s) manager Elliot Roberts passed away on the day of the Kilkenny show thus the choice of this particular song … the two of them bonding together with this song about a loved one passing away and leaving this earth, may well have been a tribute to Elliott….