On tour with Bob Dylan: One Newfoundland bus driver's view

It was just another gig for Robert Osmond when he went on a cross-Canada tour with Bob Dylan in 2008.

Osmond, originally from Port aux Basques, was working as a driver with an American-based coach line that specialized in touring with rock bands.

He was just off the road from touring with bands like Sum 41, Three Days Grace and Blue Rodeo when he got the call from his boss.

"To me it was a gig. And I just got in my bus and drove," says Osmond, who said he was asked to drive because he was from Canada and would be familiar with the roads.

Osmond drove the bus carrying Dylan's manager and his band on the tour.

Dylan was on a separate bus that travelled with Osmond's bus at all times.

The tour turned into a three-year gig.

Private person

Osmond remembers Dylan as a private man, but respectful of everyone around him — including the bus drivers.

"He always would wave to you, or say hello to you," Osmond told CBC's Corner Brook Morning Show.

The drivers are given strict instructions not to approach the musicians and to respect their privacy, but Osmond said there were a few times that Dylan spoke to him.

That includes a time when the tour manager should have taken Osmond's advice, while they were travelling from Sault Ste. Marie to London, Ont.

Osmond had outlined a route that would have kept the buses in Canada, but after a Google search by the manager, they ended up taking another path that brought the buses across the U.S. border twice.

Despite Osmond's concerns about wait times leaving and re-entering Canada, the tour manager won the debate — and as Osmond predicted it turned into a time-consuming journey.

One that didn't go unnoticed.

That's when Osmond said Dylan approached him and left him speechless while they were unloading at the hotel.

"'Hey, good job,'" Dylan said, according to Osmond. "'Next time, we're going your way.'"

That's a moment that will stay with Osmond forever.

Nobel Prize recipient

Osmond couldn't be happier for Dylan who, earlier this year, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. And, it still hasn't sunk in that he spent three years of his life touring with the iconic songwriter.

"Wow. The man that I was out [on tour] with is now getting a Nobel … Prize," said Osmond.

Dylan won't be attending the Nobel Prize banquet this weekend in Stockholm, Sweden. Instead he's sent a speech, and Patti Smith will perform a musical tribute.