Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Puts Its Spin on Bob Dylan Songs on Just-Announced Album

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has never shied away from musical institutions — their Will the Circle Be Unbroken albums, of course, introduced a whole generation of fans and musicians to roots music standards they might not have otherwise discovered.

Now they’re diving into the songbook of Bob Dylan with Dirt Does Dylan, a 10-song album coming on May 20.

True to form, the Dirt Band didn’t go into the studio (in this case, Room & Board Studio in Nashville) by themselves. Jason Isbell, The War & Treaty, Steve Earle, and Rosanne Cash join them on “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” first released last year as a single to raise money for Feeding America.

Blues-rock duo Larkin Poe are the guests on their cover of “I Shall Be Released,” shown in the video below.

“Bob Dylan was an obvious choice because his songbook is so deep,” Hanna tells Billboard. “There’s an embarrassment of riches as far as songs go, and the songs cover every possible place you might want to go musically.”

Dirt Does Dylan also marks the latest lineup for Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Joining co-founders Jeff Hanna and drummer Jimmie McFadden, and keyboard player Bob Carpenter, are new band members Ross Holmes on fiddle, bassist Jim Photoglo (who wrote the Dirt Band hit “Fishin’ in the Dark”), and Hanna’s son Jaime, a singer and guitarist.

Here’s the track list for Dirt Does Dylan:

1. Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You
2. Girl from the North Country
3. It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
4. Country Pie
5. I Shall Be Released (featuring Larkin Poe)
6. She Belongs to Me
7. Forever Young
8. The Times They Are A-Changin’ (featuring Rosanne Cash, Jason Isbell, Steve Earle, and The War and Treaty)
9. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
10. Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)