Wallflowers’ Petty – At a sold-out Cabot show in Beverly on May 22, 2026, the Wallflowers played “Bringing Down the Horse” in full—then pivoted into Tom Petty’s “Long After Dark,” including “One Story Town” and “You Got Lucky.” The mix came with surprises, a few sound issues, and
The first notes hit and it felt like the ’90s rushed back in—“One Headlight,” blasting out of the darkness at the sold-out Cabot in Beverly on Friday night, May 22, 2026. The Wallflowers didn’t ease into the evening. They arrived like a memory you didn’t know you still had.
“Bringing Down the Horse” is the kind of album that turned into a cultural shorthand the moment it charted in 1996. It reached for rich. melodic roots-rock with intricate. clever lyrics and a slam-bang punch that owed plenty to classic rock of the ’70s—yet still sounded new. For the Wallflowers, it was also personal history. And as the band played it straight through. including the album’s most famous run of songs—“One Headlight” first. “6th Avenue Heartache” second. and “Three Marlenas” fourth—the crowd didn’t just sing along. They hovered, butterflies and all.
Jakob Dylan, now 56, looked more like his famous father than ever, especially like Bob Dylan from the turn-of-the-century era. He kept a laconic aura. but there was a prowling edge to his stage presence that made this performance feel quietly dangerous in the best way. His voice. too. was brusquer than it used to be; he leaned more into a spoken-sung cadence that fit sardonic lyrics better than the smoother. more radio-friendly delivery on the original album.
The set list choice was its own gamble. To mark the album’s 30th anniversary. the Wallflowers played “Bringing Down the Horse” in full—even though the actual date was May 21. just one day earlier. Dylan acknowledged how awkward that made the setlist in practice. Still, hearing the album after all these years didn’t just sharpen the hits. It made room for the songs people forgot they remembered.
Some of the more intimate side-two tracks—“Invisible City” and “Josephine”—landed with unexpected clarity. When the band moved into the familiar territory, it was a pleasure, of course. “One Headlight” and “6th Avenue Heartache” came with the kind of momentum that makes time feel irrelevant. And “Three Marlenas” turned mesmerizing under Aaron Embry’s roiling keyboards. with Dylan pulling real longing out of lines like. “buy myself a Rolls. maybe a Chevrolet … One where I can pull that top down. just let my radio play.”.
“The Difference” offered a different kind of thrill. Dylan chewed through its biting chorus—“the only difference that I see. is that you’re exactly the same as you used to be”—with a winking glee that made the song feel newly alive. If the mix stumbled at moments, it wasn’t the material—it was the sound. Lyrics sometimes got lost in the shuffle. That mattered most on songs that weren’t already burned into everyone’s brain. including “Angel On My Bike. ” where it could be hard to penetrate the garble. When the words did cut through. Dylan’s gruffer tone came off more expressive than it did during the ’90s heyday. “Sixth Avenue Heartache,” for example, was impossible not to feel.
The band held its shape throughout. Embry on keyboards was a standout, and Chris Masterson’s dynamic guitar work added bounce and bite. Masterson leaned into his alt-country bonafides. turning upbeat numbers like “God Don’t Make Lonely Girls” into a rollicking rockabilly twist. Even beyond musicianship, the evening carried a theme: the Wallflowers can sound like whatever Jakob Dylan decides they are. Like Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders, the identity is elastic—set by the moment, not trapped by expectation.
After “Bringing Down the Horse” ended with “I Wish I Felt Nothing. ” the band shifted immediately into Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 1982 album “Long After Dark. ” starting with “One Story Town.” This wasn’t a gentle continuation. It was a detour—one that made the room recalibrate. They didn’t explain the tour’s central conceit until after that first Petty track: the Wallflowers would follow every song from “Bringing Down the Horse” with every track from “Long After Dark.”.
The sequence made the transition feel almost inevitable, even if it still surprised you. The sad slow burn of “Angel On My Bike” and “I Wish I Felt Nothing” gave way to Petty’s classic-rock jangle. and it worked in a way that felt more than just strategic. By the end. it was hard not to wonder if the band was simply more excited to sing Petty’s songs than their own.
They found momentum early. “You Got Lucky” arrived as a spooky masterpiece. “Change of Heart” came out dry and sharp, capturing Petty’s wit. “Straight Into Darkness” stayed driving and laser-focused. with Dylan showcasing why it’s his personal favorite song from the late artist. There were still weaker moments—“We Stand a Chance” drew criticism from the band’s catalog instincts. and “Between Two Worlds” was described as pokey even when the Heartbreakers did it—but gems kept appearing. Onstage, the Wallflowers’ loving interpretations carried something contagious: the joy that starts bands and keeps people listening.
A few choices landed especially well by the end. “The Same Old You” and “A Wasted Life” kept the Petty run moving, while the crowd didn’t treat the detour like a duty. By encore time, the Cabot crowd was dancing out into the street.
Setlist for The Wallfowers at The Cabot in Beverly. May 22. 2026:
“Bringing Down the Horse”:
One Headlight
6th Avenue Heartache
Bleeders
Three Marlenas
The Difference
Invisible City
Laughing Out Loud
Josephine
God Don’t Make Lonely Girls
Angel On My Bike
I Wish I Felt Nothing
“Long After Dark”:
A One Story Town
You Got Lucky
Deliver Me
Change of Heart
Finding Out
We Stand a Chance
Straight into Darkness
The Same Old You
Between Two Worlds
A Wasted Life
Encore:
I’ve Been Delivered
Everything I Need
Refugee (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover)
The Waiting (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover).
Wallflowers Jakob Dylan Tom Petty Bringing Down the Horse Long After Dark Cabot Beverly live music setlist One Headlight You Got Lucky