American music icon Bob Dylan rarely invites guests to sit in during his performances, but he made an exception for a versatile young bluegrass picker named Billy Strings on Thursday night at the Spokane, WA stop on the ongoing Outlaw Music Festival tour.
Midway through his set, Bob Dylan brought Billy Strings into the fold on guitar for a rendition of one of the most enduring tunes in the pantheon of Dylan-penned classics, “All Along The Watchtower”. Aside from a few melodic lead lines, Billy’s playing remained subdued and atmospheric throughout the appearance, adding to the characteristically gloomy texture of the song while Dylan handled lead vocals from behind the piano.
Billy Strings has been known to reflect upon sit-ins with his heroes at length, but after his guest appearance with the larger-than-life singer-songwriter, he had just one simple thought to offer: “I don’t have words… besides thank you Bob Dylan,” he wrote on social media Friday morning.
Watch a crowd-shot video of the Dylan/Strings collab on “All Along The Watchtower” at Outlaw Music Festival in Spokane below.
Bob Dylan w/ Billy Strings – “All Along The Watchtower” – 5/22/25
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Billy Strings was already feeling the collaborative spirit before connecting with Bob Dylan onstage on Thursday. During his own set, he welcomed Micah Nelson (Particle Kid, Willie Nelson & Family) on guitar and vocals and Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson & Family) on harmonica for a run through Irving Berlin staple “Blue Skies”. Raphael also stuck around for the next song, a take on Townes Van Zandt’s “White Freightliner Blues”.
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Bob Dylan and Billy Strings will both continue along the road with the roving Outlaw Music Festival this weekend for stops at Ridgfield, WA’s Cascades Amphitheatre (Saturday, 5/24) and George, WA’s The Gorge (Sunday, May 25th).
Bob Dylan will rejoin the tour when it resumes in June, joining Willie Nelson and a rotating cast of notables like Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Trampled by Turtles, Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, The Avett Brothers, Turnpike Troubadours, Wilco, Lucinda Williams, Waylon Payne, The Red Clay Strays, Sheryl Crow, Waxahatchee, and as the tenth Outlaw Music Festival makes its way around the country. Find tickets to upcoming Outlaw Music Festival dates featuring Bob Dylan here.
Billy Strings and his namesake band will kick off their own headlining summer tour with a two-night run in Grand Rapids, MI on May 30th and 31st and remain on the road through much of June. In August, they’ll head to Australia for their first run Down Under, followed by a trip to San Francisco to serve as the opening act on the first night of Dead & Company‘s celebration of 60 years of Grateful Dead music in Golden Gate Park on August 1st. Find tickets to upcoming Billy Strings tour dates here.
Setlist: Bob Dylan | Outlaw Music Festival | ONE Spokane Stadium | Spokane, WA | 5/22/25
Set: Gotta Serve Somebody, Simple Twist of Fate, Forgetful Heart, Axe and the Wind (George Butler), To Ramona, Early Roman Kings, Under the Red Sky, I’ll Make It All Up To You (Charlie Rich), All Along The Watchtower [1], ‘Til; I Fell in Love With You, Desolation Row, Love Sick, Share Your Love With Me, Blind Willie McTell, Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
Notes: [1] with Billy Strings (guitar)
Setlist [via BillyBase]: Billy Strings | Outlaw Music Festival | ONE Spokane Stadium | Spokane, WA | 5/22/25
Set: On The Line > Train 45 (traditional), Gild the Lily, Enough To Leave, Leaning on a Travelin’ Song, The Old Mountaineer (Bill Monroe), Standing In The Need Of Prayer (traditional) [1], Freedom [1], Home, Black Clouds (The String Cheese Incident), Running The Route > Hollow Heart, Blue Skies (Irving Berlin) [2] [3], White Freightliner Blues (Townes Van Zandt) [3], Crossing Muddy Waters (John Hiatt)
Notes: [1] Full band around one microphone; [2] with Micah Nelson (guitar, vocals); [3] with Mickey Raphael (harmonica).