Bob Dylan invited Billy Strings onto the stage Thursday night when the Outlaw Music Festival touched down at ONE Spokane Stadium in Spokane, Washington. They performed a slow, stripped-down version of “All Along the Watchtower” where Dylan was once again sung in a remarkably clear and lucid voice.
Strings has been on the road with the Outlaw Music Festival since the opening night on May 13, but this is the first time he’s guested with Dylan. It’s one of the few times Dylan has welcomed another artist from the tour onto his stage throughout his time with the Outlaw Fest, though Willie Nelson’s harmonica player, Mickey Raphael, was a frequent guest last summer.
During his own set, Strings mixed covers like Bill Monroe’s “Ashland Breakdown” and Jamey Johnson’s “Lonely at the Top” with selections from his 2019 LP Home and 2021 follow-up Renewal. Dylan’s 1978 classic “Señor (Takes of Yankee Power) has been a regular part of his live show in recent years. He’s also played “Drifter’s Escape,” “Tangled Up In Blue,” and “Motorpsycho Nightmare.” His only prior performance of “All Along The Watchtower” took place on October 29, 2022, in Asheville, North Carolina.
Dylan, meanwhile, has played “All Along The Watchtower” 2,266 times, more than any other song in his catalog. Many of the prior versions borrowed at least some elements from the famous Jimi Hendrix cover, but that can’t be said about this new one. It has more in common with the original recording on John Wesley Harding.
It’s one of the few songs in Dylan’s set that casual fans who come to the Outlaw Music Festival to see Nelson will likely recognize. During the first few shows, he threw out surprise covers like “A Rainy Night in Soho” by the Pogues and “Garden Party” by Rick Nelson. He’s largely stopped doing this, though “Axe and the Wind” by Willie Dixon has been played every night along with “I’ll Make It All Up To You” by Charlie Rich.
The Outlaw Music Festival has only been on the road for ten days. It doesn’t wrap up until September 19, and along the way, Lake Street Drive, the Avett Brothers, Wilco, Lucinda Williams, Sheryl Crow, and Waxahatchee will be joining the bill at various points. It creates many more opportunities for once-in-a-lifetime onstage collaborations with Dylan. But we’ll just be happy to see Willie Nelson come out during his set at some point. Despite their long history and close friendship, they didn’t perform together once last summer, and it hasn’t happened on this new leg either.