Willie and Bob are returning to Camden.
A year after Willie Nelson brought his 4th of July Picnic to the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion with Bob Dylan as his opening act, the two senior stalwarts of American song will return to the Jersey side of the Delaware this summer.
Nelson and Dylan are back on the road with the Outlaw Music Festival Tour, which is celebrating its tenth year and will play the waterfront amphitheatre across the river from Philadelphia on September 12.
The two renowned songwriters, aged 91 and 83, will be joined by three ladies. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame singer-guitarist Sheryl Crow; Waxahatchee, the celebrated previously Philadelphian singer Katie Crutchfield, who is on tour for last year’s fantastic Tiger’s Blood; and country singer Madeline Edwards, who scored a hit with “Mama, Dolly, Jesus,” on her 2022 breakthrough Crashlanded.
Last year’s Nelson performance in Camden was packed with drama. The nonagenarian Red Headed Stranger had missed the previous two weeks of tour dates due to illness, but returned to the stage on Independence Day.
Last Leaf on the Tree, Nelson’s 76th album, was produced by his son Micah Nelson.
In a statement about this year’s performance tour, Nelson said: “What an incredible lineup to honour the 10th year of the Outlaw Music Festival Tour. I’m excited to join friends and family in bringing this celebration to the fans we care about.”
Dylan will return to Camden with a larger and probably younger fan base, courtesy to Timothée Chalamet, an actor and fanboy 50 years his junior who plays him in the Oscar-nominated film A Complete Unknown and sang three Dylan deep cuts on Saturday Night Live last month.
With a new generation of fans paying attention, Dylan’s mind-blowing surprises on this tour are impossible to predict. Good luck, newcomers!
Dylan will accompany Nelson during this year’s Outlaw tour, which begins on May 13 in Arizona and ends on September 19 in Wisconsin.
The support acts for the two headliners vary in length and include a who’s who of Americana and Dad Rock acts such as Billy Strings, Sierra Hull, Charles Wesley Godwin, and country newcomer Willow Avalon, who performed an eye-opening show at the Foundry at the Fillmore Philadelphia last week.
Wilco and Lucinda Williams will join the Outlaw tour for a limited run of performances in New England and upstate New York in August. Turnpike Troubadours, Red Clay Strays, and Waylon Payne will open the Hershey Park Stadium show in Hershey on August 9.