Jakob Dylan and The Wallflowers will perform Bringing Down the Horse and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ Long After Dark in full across a major 2026 tour
by Paul Cashmere
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough album, The Wallflowers have announced a special 2026 US and European tour that promises to be a landmark for fans and the band alike. The tour will feature the group performing their acclaimed 1996 album Bringing Down the Horse in its entirety, alongside Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ Long After Dark, also performed front-to-back. This marks the first time The Wallflowers will play Bringing Down the Horse live from start to finish, creating a rare opportunity to experience two seminal records in a single show.
Jakob Dylan, the band’s lead singer and principal songwriter, explained the concept behind the tour: “Coming back after such a long time, we wanted to do something special for the 30th anniversary of Bringing Down the Horse. We decided to play what seems to be our fans’ favourite Wallflowers album, and for us, we wanted to play one of our favourite Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers records, Long After Dark.”
Released in 1996, Bringing Down the Horse became a defining record of its era. The album sold over four million copies worldwide and launched four hit singles: “One Headlight,” “The Difference,” “Three Marlenas,” and “6th Avenue Heartache.” The Wallflowers earned widespread recognition at the 1998 Grammy Awards, winning “Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group” while “One Headlight” received “Best Rock Song.” The track has endured as a cultural touchstone, topping Billboard’s “Greatest of All Time Adult Alternative Songs” chart in 2021.
The album’s success was underpinned by its richly layered sound and deeply personal lyrics. Produced by T Bone Burnett, Bringing Down the Horse blends elements of Americana, roots, and rock, featuring instruments such as pedal steel guitars, dobros, and banjos. Dylan wrote all the songs over a period of five years, with some, like “6th Avenue Heartache,” dating back to the early 1990s. Other songs, including “One Headlight” and “Invisible City,” were shaped in the studio with contributions from pedal steel guitarist Leo LeBlanc, who passed away shortly after the album’s completion. The band dedicated the record to him, recognising his impact on its signature sound.
The Wallflowers’ history prior to this milestone was marked by perseverance. After their self-titled 1992 debut, the band parted ways with Virgin Records and returned to the Los Angeles club scene, enduring lineup changes before signing with Interscope in 1994. Early studio sessions for Bringing Down the Horse saw temporary contributions from drummers and guitarists including Matt Chamberlain and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, alongside Michael Ward, who became the group’s permanent lead guitarist.
The tour also pays homage to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Dylan’s admiration for Petty is longstanding, having personally inducted him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Their friendship was highlighted in the 2018 documentary Echo in the Canyon, executive produced by and starring Dylan, which marked Petty’s final on-screen appearance.
Beyond this celebratory tour, The Wallflowers continue to build on their three-decade career. Their 2021 release, Exit Wounds, reaffirmed the band’s signature sound. Critics praised the album, with MOJO calling it Dylan’s best original work in years, Pitchfork noting the deepened traditionalism of his music, and SPIN recognising it as “a stunning body of work by anyone’s standards.”
The Wallflowers 2026 Tour Dates:
April 17, 2026 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
April 18, 2026 – Edmonds, WA – Edmonds Center for the Arts
April 19, 2026 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
April 21, 2026 – Napa, CA – Uptown Theatre
April 23, 2026 – Reno, NV – Grand Sierra Resort and Casino
April 24, 2026 – Visalia, CA – Visalia Fox Theatre
April 25, 2026 – Monterey, CA – Golden State Theatre
April 26, 2026 – Indio, CA – Stagecoach Music Festival
April 28, 2026 – Albuquerque, NM – KiMo Theatre
April 30, 2026 – New Braunfels, TX – Gruene Hall
May 1, 2026 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
May 2, 2026 – Tulsa, OK – Tulsa Theater
May 4, 2026 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre
May 5, 2026 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
May 7, 2026 – Rocky Mount, VA – Harvester Performance Center
May 8, 2026 – Jim Thorpe, PA – Penn’s Peak
May 9, 2026 – Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theater
May 10, 2026 – Hartford, CT – Infinity Music Hall
May 12, 2026 – Laconia, NH – Colonial Theatre
May 14, 2026 – Bensalem, PA – Parx Casino
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