Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson turned the Hollywood Bowl right into a haven for Americana and nation on Friday evening, as the 2 legends introduced the Outlaw Music Pageant again to the storied venue for the second yr in a row.
Dylan went on simply as nightfall settled, and the stage lit up like a noir rodeo, revealing Dylan’s signature piano. He and his band — wearing black like outlaw undertakers — opened with a swaggering “Issues Have Modified.”
The stage setup was easy: A picture of a peaceable mountain lake backdrop that resembled a elaborate water bottle label, mixing nicely with the encircling Hollywood Hills, and a crowd filled with cowboy hats and rhinestones.
Opening for Dylan and Nelson Friday evening have been bluegrass stars Sierra Hull and Billy Strings, whereas upcoming Outlaw Fest 2025 tour stops will rotate in acts like Sheryl Crow, Wilco, Lucinda Williams, and Nathaniel Rateliff. Outlaw lineups in earlier years have included Neil Younger, Brandi Carlile, and Chris Stapleton.
At 83, Dylan continues to be assertive, quirks and all. His piano was blended unusually loudly, highlighting each rhythmic drive and occasional missed notes. It was a forgiving viewers, a lot of whom have been most likely teenagers when Dylan launched his first albums.
Dylan’s set was probably the most unpredictable entering into. On this tour’s opening nights, he shook up his latest Tough and Rowdy Methods tour materials and as a substitute pulled out deep cuts, first-time covers, and utterly reimagined variations of beloved songs. To superfans, this night may’ve felt like a rerun — almost an identical to his set the evening earlier than in Chula Vista — however to most, it was refreshingly unusual, particularly for the youthful attendees seeing him for the primary time after catching final yr’s A Full Unknown however not realizing how a lot Dylan has reworked his stay sound from the previous few many years of touring.
Tracks like “Easy Twist of Destiny,” “Desolation Row,” and “To Ramona” have been reshaped with shuffling grooves and Dylan’s honky-tonk piano. “All Alongside the Watchtower” felt like a dare if Dylan might make one in all his songs sound like Sade — a sentence this author by no means anticipated to put in writing. “Blind Willie McTell” wore a Dire Straits combover. Even “Underneath the Crimson Sky,” the title observe from what was lengthy thought of one in all Dylan’s lesser albums, shed its early ‘90s sheen and was allowed to breathe, sounding particularly spacious and fairly.
Different Dylan gems — “Forgetful Coronary heart,” “Love Sick,” “Early Roman Kings” — remained near their unique recordings whereas he carried out new-to-this-tour covers like George “Wild Baby” Butler’s “Axe and the Wind,” Charlie Wealthy’s “I’ll Make It All As much as You,” and “Share Your Love With Me” by Alfred Braggs and Deadric Malone.
In typical Dylan trend, he stated little between songs, except for a humorous second asking an viewers member what they have been consuming. For the primary a number of songs, the Bowl’s displays stayed off, as if Dylan didn’t wish to be seen. After they did come on just a few songs in, to the viewers’s cheers, they solely confirmed a far large shot, nonetheless protecting the without end recluse principally hidden.
Each time Dylan picked up a harmonica, the group roared. The most important applause got here for the nearer, “Don’t Assume Twice, It’s All Proper,” reimagined with jangly piano and harmonica.
If Dylan was the dusky preacher Friday, Nelson was the campfire gentle. At 92, he’s nonetheless quintessentially American, our real-life bald eagle. After seeing him stay within the tenth yr of what has develop into outlaw music’s most beloved competition, it’s laborious to argue with that.
Billed as “Willie Nelson & Household,” the stage lit up in pink and orange glow, an infinite American flag hanging behind them. Nelson, seated with Set off — his trusty, lengthy worn-in acoustic guitar — was surrounded by his literal household. He opened with “Whiskey River” and the Bowl erupted. Nelson didn’t pull any methods, simply traditional after traditional, carried out with pleasure and readability.
His set included hits he wrote or popularized with buddies: “Workin’ Man Blues” (Merle Haggard), “Good Hearted Girl” (Waylon Jennings), and “Assist Me Make It By means of the Night time” (Kris Kristofferson). In contrast to Dylan, Nelson often chatted with the group, giving intros to songs and reminiscences of outdated buddies.
Standouts included a rollicking “Bloody Mary Morning” (with the viewers cheering for its LA name-drop), a crowd singalong to “Mammas Don’t Let Your Infants Develop As much as Be Cowboys,” and tender and humorous renditions of “(Die Once I’m Excessive) Midway to Heaven” and “Every little thing is Bullshit,” each written by Nelson’s youngest son Micah, who performs below the moniker Particle Child. The latter was particularly entertaining, with the youthful Nelson, who does a close to excellent impression of his dad’s voice, injecting cat meows whereas the older Nelson scatted “bullshit” all through the choruses—smiling like your grandpa who is aware of that he’s in hassle for saying one thing naughty.
Beginning simply earlier than 10 p.m., Nelson by no means appeared drained. He smiled, nodded, and sang like he nonetheless meant each phrase. The night ended with a lot of the Outlaw Fest crew coming again on stage collectively (besides Dylan, who was possibly asleep), performing with Nelson to shut the evening by overlaying the timeless “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” and “I’ll Fly Away.”
Nelson then gave his farewells and exited stage proper as the remainder of the gang performed him off with Hank Williams’s “I Noticed the Gentle.”
