Bob Dylan and Neil Young closed out a co-headlining performance at Kilkenny, Ireland’s Nowlan Park on Sunday night (July 14) with a duet of “Will The Circle Be Unbroken.” The duo reportedly haven’t performed together live onstage since a 1994 show at the Roseland Ballroom in New York.
“Will The Circle Be Unbroken” is a traditional hymn dating back to the early 1900s, notably reworked by A.P. Carter and released by the Carter family in 1935. Dylan sang the tune early in his career, recording a version for The Basement Tapes sessions with The Band, which was later released on the The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete.
Young also has a history with the song, having performed it with fellow Farm Aid cohort Willie Nelson a handful of time since the mid-nineties. However, the first time he played it, according to Rolling Stone, was with Dylan at the SNACK Benefit at San Francisco’s Kezar Stadium back in ’75.
Watch crowd-shot video of Young and Dylan’s performance of “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” in Kilkenny below.