At the Outlaw Music Festival in Spokane, Washington, on Thursday (May 22), Bob Dylan surprised fans by inviting Billy Strings onstage to perform a stripped-down rendition of “All Along the Watchtower.” Strings has frequently worked Dylan’s songs into his own sets throughout his career, even covering “All Along the Watchtower” 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. Strings has been with the Outlaw Music Festival since the tour’s opening night on May 13, but this is the first time he’s made a guest appearance with Dylan. It also marks one of the few times that Dylan has welcomed another artist from the tour onto his stage, though Willie Nelson’s harmonica player, Mickey Raphael, was a frequent guest last summer. The festival – featuring Dylan, Nelson, and Strings alongside a rotating lineup including Sheryl Crow, Turnpike Troubadours, the Avett Brothers, and Wilco – is on the road through September 19. (Rolling Stone)
