40 Years Ago, Bob Dylan and an Iconic '70s Rock Band Took the 'True Confessions' Tour Across North America
By the late 1980's, Bob Dylanwas already a major household name in the rock genre and was ready to head on tour. Four decades ago, he took the stage across multiple countries and landed in the U.S. for the North American leg of his "True Confessions" tour alongside Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
The idea to have the rock band join him on tour came about after the two performed together at the inaugural Farm Aid in 1985. In a trailer backstage, Dylan asked Petty if they'd be interested in joining the tour that was scheduled to have two concerts in New Zealand and 13 in Australia.
By this time, Petty and his band had already made waves in the late '70s with hit tracks like "Breakdown" and "American Girl." They later released "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Refugee," which made them mainstream successes. Their live performances were showcased when they released a live album in 1985, with Petty on board to go on tour with Dylan, as they were all huge admirers.
"We'd all been huge Dylan fans," Petty recalled in Conversations With Tom Petty, "and we were very intrigued by the idea of playing with Bob. So off we went. And that went on for two years. We'd do part of it, and then more would get added on, and then more would get added on. We really did the world with Bob."
On June 9, 1986, the "True Confessions" tour landed in North America to immense success with audiences. American fans hadn't seen the rock icon perform live in concert for almost eight years at this point. Petty admits that performing with Dylan had been a roller coaster, as there was often improv, and even if things fell apart, the rocker would thrive on the chaos.
Keyboardist Benmont Tench later recalled in an interview with Flagging Down the Double E's how Dylan admired how the band was able to "play off the cuff." They wouldn't rehearse songs and would go out on stage and play, having heard it a million times on the radio.
"I think Bob probably enjoyed that about us. It wasn't very hard to teach us a song - and sometimes he didn't teach us a song. He just started playing it. It didn't matter if there were 20 or 60 or 70 thousand people watching. Not often, but every now and then, he just would start playing. That's the best kind of playing, in a way, if you know the song inherently but you've never played it," he said.
The "True Confessions" tour was like any other tour for Dylan, but left a lasting impression. Many recall Petty and Dylan singing "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" and "Like a Rolling Stone." A concert video was even recorded while in Australia and released two years later.
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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 11:39 AM.