3 Artists You Don’t Want To Miss at This Year’s Outlaw Music Festival

Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their Outlaw Music Festival this summer.

Videos by American Songwriter

The 35-date tour also features Sheryl Crow, The Avett Brothers, Lucinda Williams, Wilco, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Waxahatchee, Billy Strings, and others. Said Nelson, “I can’t wait to join friends and family in bringing this celebration to the fans we love.”

Dylan joined the tour for select dates beginning in 2017. But he’ll appear at each stop—as he did in 2024—with Nelson, while the guest musicians are scheduled to perform on various dates.

The music festival launched in 2016 in Scranton, Pa. (Close enough to count as a decade for rock and roll.) Nelson and Dylan’s rambling tour will make stops in 22 states, starting on May 13 in Phoenix.

Here are three artists you don’t want to miss.

Wilco

This legendary Chicago band needs no introduction. Jeff Tweedy and his sextet have become a touring institution. And they’ve recently released an expanded edition of their 2004 album A Ghost Is Born. The album represents Wilco transforming into its current stellar lineup. Jazz virtuoso Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone joined to support the tour and became permanent members. A Ghost Is Born became Wilco’s first album to reach the U.S. Top 10. More importantly, it solidified one of the best live bands around.

Saxophones started blowing me down
I was buried in sound; taxicabs were driving me around
To the handshake drugs I bought downtown
To the handshake drugs I bought downtown

Waxahatchee

Katie Crutchfield, who records as Waxahatchee, released one of the best albums of 2024. Tigers Blood received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Americana Album. It also featured a gorgeous collaboration with MJ Lenderman, “Right Back to It.” Crutchfield’s inclusion on the Outlaw Tour proves the future of American roots music remains in good hands. Also, check out Crutchfield’s early releases. Beautifully noisy and honest, threading indie rock, emo, and folk music.

I throw it in the right direction
Please don’t look my way
You stare directly in my eyes
’Cause you are brave

Billy Strings

If you’re into watching someone shred, Billy Strings is for you. A mind-blowing virtuoso, Strings pulls bluegrass into the modern era with touches of psychedelia and a jam band philosophy. His high-profile collaboration with Post Malone introduced Strings to a wider audience. Check out “M-E-X-I-C-O” from Malone’s country album F-1 Trillion.

I guess it’s M-E-X-I-C-O for me
Laid up in the shade of a coconut tree
And love said, “Go to hell,”  but there’s somewhere I’d rather be
So it’s M-E-X-I-C-O for me

Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

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