Willie Nelson‘s upcoming album ‘Dream Chaser’ features a new collaboration with Bob Dylan.
The US singer-songwriter is due to release the 10-song record on May 29, following on from last year’s ‘Workin’ Man’ (pre-order/pre-save here). He has already shared the title track, which is an acoustic country ballad.
Nelson has also teamed up with his friend Dylan on a cut titled ‘I Can’t Read Your Mind’. The pair have toured extensively together in the past, including at the Outlaw Music Festival Tour in 2025 and 2024.
However, the two artists have rarely shared credit on a song. The last time they did so was on ‘Heartland’ from Nelson’s 1993 album ‘Across The Borderline’, per Rolling Stone.
Speaking to GQ last December, Nelson explained: “[We] were talking a while back about writing a song together. [Dylan] had an idea of ‘I can’t read your mind‘.
“We started with, ‘I can’t read your mind. The letters are too small‘. I handed that over to Buddy [Cannon, producer], and he took it and turned it into a good song. That’s pretty rare with Bob.”
Around the same time, Dylan offered a unique description of Nelson for an article on the country legend, describing him as an “ancient Viking soul” among other things.
“What do you say about a guy who plays an old, battered guitar that he treats like it’s the last loyal dog in the universe?” he wrote, adding: “Cowboy apparition, writes songs with holes that you can crawl through to escape from something. Voice like a warm porchlight left on for wanderers who kissed goodbye too soon or stayed too long.”
The tracklist for Willie Nelson’s ‘Dream Chaser’ is:
1. ‘Dream Chaser’ (Written by Buddy Cannon, Bobby Tomberlin & Willie Nelson)
2. ‘Fly Away’ (Written by Buddy Cannon & Bobby Whitlock)
3. ‘We’d Make A Good Movie’ (Written by Willie Nelson, Buddy Cannon & Bobby Tomberlin)
4. ‘I Can’t Read Your Mind’ (Written by Willie Nelson, Buddy Cannon & Bob Dylan)
5. ‘Whiskey Wants Me To’ (Written by Buddy Cannon & Bobby Tomberlin)
6. ‘Wonder What I’m Gonna Do’ (Written by Willie Nelson & Buddy Cannon)
7. ‘After All’ (Written by Willie Nelson & Buddy Cannon)
8. ‘Love Overdue’ (Written by Mickey Raphael, Donald W. Poythress & Anna Lisa Graham)
9. ‘I Don’t Think I’ve Cried Today’ (Written by Buddy Cannon, Bobby Tomberlin & Willie Nelson)
10. ‘Developing My Pictures’ (Written by Earl Montgomery)
Nelson is set to perform at Luck Reunion in Texas this week along with St. Vincent, Booker T. Jones, Trampled By Turtles and more. He’ll also embark on a US headline tour this spring.
Dylan brought his ‘Rough And Rowdy Ways’ tour back to the UK and Ireland late last year, and is playing a run of shows in the US this year.
Last summer, it was reported that the musician had been working on new material with “members of his band” in Albany, New York.
At the 2025 edition of Outlaw Music Festival Tour, which was founded by Nelson, Dylan covered The Pogues’ ‘A Rainy Night in Soho’ for the first time, and broke out the first live rendition of ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ in 15 years. He also invited Billy Strings to perform ‘All Along the Watchtower’ with him.
English (US) · 