Hear Bob Dylan Perform a Folk Ballad for the First Time in 34 Years

Three days after stumping the crowd at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall by playing Van Morrison’s 2016 supreme deep cut “Going Down to Bangor,” Bob Dylan went significantly further back in music history — about 180 years to be exact — and broke out the traditional folk ballad “The Lakes of Pontchartrain” at INEC Arena, in Killarney, Ireland.

Unlike “Going Down to Bangor,” Dylan has actually played “The Lakes of Pontchartrain” at prior gigs, but the last one took place 34 years ago. He debuted it June 7, 1988, when the Never Ending Tour kicked off in Concord, California. The last time he performed it was on July 6, 1991, at Holman Stadium in Nashua, New Hampshire.

“The Lakes of Pontchartrain” originated in America and directly references New Orleans and the surrounding region. It was resurre