After being barred from performing a Bob Dylan cover at the Billboard Music Awards, Kesha found another venue for the song: Onstage at the Orpheum in Los Angeles alongside Ben Folds, Stereogum reports.
Leading up to the Billboard awards, Kesha initially received approval from Kemosabe Records, Gottwald’s label, to perform, but that approval was rescinded when the label heard rumors that Kesha was planning a stunt condemning Dr. Luke at the show. (Because nothing says non-abuser like overtly silencing someone who claims to be your victim.) Anyway, Kesha said that she was “never going to use a picture of him, speak of him, or allude to [the] legal situation in any way” during the performance, noting that she only planned to sing a cover of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me, Babe.”
Last night, Ben Folds performed at the Orpheum with New York-based sextet yMusic in support of their recent collaboration So There. Kesha joined Folds on stage, and the two performed not only “It Ain’t Me, Babe,” but also his cover of Kesha’s “Sleazy” and his own “Rock This Bitch” and “Still Fighting It.”
You can watch some of the performance below:
This morning, Kesha thanked Folds on Instagram: