Bob Dylan delivers a dream set at Kent's Hop Farm Festival

 

Bob Dylan delivered a dream set to bring a sizzling weekend of musical legends to a close on Saturday.
In recent years Dylan has gained a reputation as an obtuse and frustrating live act, but fears of a festival anti-climax were banished as he pulled out classic after classic.
After a late start Dylan opened with a stomping rendition of Rainy Day Women No.12 & 35.
Backed by a tight band that delivered a raunchy Deep South rumble, he set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Bob Dylan pulled out classic after classic backed by a tight band that delivered a raunchy Deep South rumble

Nowadays Dylan doesn’t sing so much as trip over his words in a rapid-fire growl, but complaints about his delivery were at a premium as he kept the hits coming with renditions of Don’t Think Twice, it’s Alright, Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again and Just Like a Woman all in a row. 
Age may have taken a little punch out of his harmonica playing, and stiffened his fingers on the fretboard, but it was clear that as he moved from the tender A Simple Twist of Fate, Workingman’s Blues No. 2 to the giddy and electric Highway 61 Revisited, Ballad of a Thin Man, Like a Rolling Stone that this supposedly grouchy troubadour was enjoying himself.
This fact was not lost on a crowd that ranged from teenagers to pensioners.

Playing fan favourites: Blondie and Ray Davies

Dylan’s attitude of playing fan favourites instead of valuing self-indulgence was also shared by the likes of Blondie and Ray Davies, the latter clearly relishing the occasion as he joked with the audience and gave generously from The Kinks’ back catalogue.

It’s a shame, then, that this spirit was not shared by Van Morrison, Friday’s headliner and the festival’s only real disappointment.
Playing a soporific set more suited to a hotel lounge than a music festival, Van the, very old, Man opted to pad out songs with lengthy solos from each of his ensemble.

Even the very few sure-thing tracks like Brown-Eyed Girl and Moondance were messy and lifeless. It was a performance that smacked of indifference.
The festival wasn’t all about the veterans though. Johnny Flynn boosted his profile and Laura Marling cemented hers with an accomplished showing.

Seasick Steve may have delivered the line of the weekend singing 'Now freedom, for most, is just a word, like toast'

Mumford & Sons also delivered a passionate performance in front of an immense crowd in the baking heat of the day, while Seasick Steve may have delivered the line of the weekend- no small feat amongst feted lyricists Dylan and the unremarkable Pete Doherty, singing ‘Now freedom, for most, is just a word, like toast.’
But it was a day that belonged to Bob. It was fitting that he rounded it off with the perfect festival closer, ‘Forever Young’. On Saturday, his love for performing hadn’t aged a day.