It's been a long time coming, but Bob Dylan's debut in Cork city was well worth the wait, as 5,000 voices sang along to his opening number Maggie's Farm.
Dylan pulled out of two separate shows in Millstreet in recent years due to illness, but the icon was greeted warmly by fans at the Showgrounds in Monaghan Road, Cork, last night.
Another track from the 1965 Bringing it All Back Home album, She Belongs to Me was among the opening numbers.
By the time Dylan got to Just Like a Woman four songs into the set, it was like an old friend had come home.
Dressed in his usual understated manner, black Stetson hat and black coat, Dylan looked and sounded in robust good health.
The midsummer festival continues today with a surreal train show for commuters on the evening Cork-Cobh line.
Passengers on board the 8pm and 9.30pm train to Cobh this week will find themselves watching a play described as "part Orient Express and 100 per cent off the rails". Tom Creed's The Train Show tells the story of three stressed commuters and "explodes" around passengers as they make their way to Cobh.
The Spiegeltent in Emmet Place this evening hosts a performance by Pip Utton, whose comedy Adolf takes the audience into the mindset of a nation that allowed a man such as Hitler to take control.
Other highlights of the week include performances by the Frank and Walters, Latino, funk and blues band Poles Apart and Bacon, a show based on a day in the complex life of Francis Bacon, arguably the greatest British painter since Turner.
The Live at the Marquee series continues on Wednesday with a performance by Art Garfunkel, with former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters on stage on Thursday. Next weekend will see shows by Irish act The Frames and US hip-hop star Kanye West.
Music fans are expected to spend an estimated €5 million at 11 concerts during the two-week festival.