The National Covers Echo & The Bunnymen With The War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel

The National and The War On Drugs recently embarked on their co-headlining Zen Diagram Tour with support from Lucius. Over the weekend, the tour journeyed to Canada and The National’s native Ohio and both concerts featured The War On Drugs guitarist Adam Granduciel joining The National to cover Echo & The Bunnymen’s “Bring On The Dancing Horses.”

The National summoned Granduciel near the midpoint of their set last Friday at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage to provide additional guitar to the Echo & The Bunnymen cover. The influential British rock band’s song “Bring On The Dancing Horses” was recorded for the Brat Pack-starring 1986 feature film Pretty In Pink.

The following evening, the Cincinnati-born The National led the way to their home state as the tour landed at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Granduciel once again accompanied The National on guitar for “Bring On The Dancing Horses.”

During The War On Drugs’ set at Blossom Music Center, the band was joined by Lucius vocalists Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig on “I Don’t Live Here Anymore.” The pair also contributed to the studio version of the song that served as the title track to The War On Drugs’ 2021 full-length album.

When Granduciel got to the lyric of the song that references Bob Dylan’s song “Desolation Row,” Granduciel used a harmonica to bang on his microphone, mimicking Dylan’s own recent performance of “Desolation Row,” that saw him banging on his microphone with a wrench.

Wolf and Laessig have been regularly sitting in with The National at Zen Diagram Tour stops, performing “Rylan” with the band. Granduciel has frequently come out for Lucius’ opening sets, adding guitar to “Old Tape,” their joint single issued in advance of the tour.

After a stop yesterday at the Bourbon & Beyond festival in Louisville, the Zen Diagram Tour continues tomorrow at Chicago’s United Center. View video capturing some of the recent collabs below: