Watch Bob Dylan cover Ricky Nelson’s ‘Garden Party’
Bob Dylan has covered another classic song while on the road for the Outlaw Music Festival, and this track notably includes a reference to the singer himself.
On May 15th, at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, California, Dylan covered ‘Garden Party’, Ricky Nelson’s 1972 hit.
The song was originally inspired by a night at Madison Square Garden, where Nelson was booed off stage after playing new material. On October 15th, 1971, at the Rock & Roll Spectacular, Nelson was playing alongside Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and Bobby Rydell before having to vacate the stage.
‘Garden Party’ features a verse that references Dylan, as Nelson sings: “And over in the corner/ Much to my surprise/ Mr. Hughes hid in Dylan’s shoes/ Wearing his disguise.”
Dylan appears to be interspersing his sets with different covers each night on the tour. On opening night, Dylan closed his set with a beautiful cover of The Pogues’ ‘Rainy Night In Soho’.
That night, he also played Axe and the Wind by George ‘Wild Child’ Butler, which marked another live debut. He then played ‘Route 66’ for the first time since 1986. His sixth song of the set was another first live appearaance, as he covered Charlie Rich’s ‘I’ll Make It All Up To You’.
Dylan and Willie Nelson are currently on tour in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Outlaw Music Festival Tour, have 35 nights in total to wow audiences across North America. Their tour will end on September 19th, 2025, in East Troy, Wisconsin
The support acts for the tour will regularly change. However, they have announced that Sheryl Crow, Wilco, Billy Strings, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, the Avett Brothers, Lake Street Dive, Waxahatchee, Lucinda Williams, Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers are some of the artists who will be performing alongside them on the road.
Never Miss A Tale
The Far Out Bob Dylan Newsletter
All the latest stories about Bob Dylan from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.