Widespread Panic and Jason Isbell with his 400 Unit headed the bill at Sweetwater 420 Fest which took place in Atlanta last weekend, the festival ending on the highlight of two Southern roots-based bands who played the main stage with back-to-back performances on Sunday. Jason Isbell performed the first of those sets with his band but then he stuck around with his guitar and joined Athens, Georgia’s Widespread Panic for a version of ZZ Top’s classic ‘Jesus Just Left Chicago.’ Watch it below. Isbell has previously played with Widespread Panic in 2016, where he joined the band for a version of J.J. Cale’s ‘Ride Me High’ in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Tag: Jason Isbell
NPR previews new Josh Ritter album in full
Well this is a treat for the Easter weekend – NPR are previewing today the new Josh Ritter album ‘Fever Breaks’ which is due out on Friday next week and which, of course, is produced by Jason Isbell, whose 400 Unit serve as the backing band for the record. NPR comment: Continue reading “NPR previews new Josh Ritter album in full”
Josh Ritter “Old Black Magic” – Listen
Exciting news that Josh Ritter is returning with his tenth album, ‘Fever Breaks‘. If the first single is a guide – and we’ve a feeling it is – then ‘Fever Breaks’ is going to be Josh Ritter’s rockiest album since ‘Historical Conquests‘. Some of this sound could just be due to the presence of Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. Could this, already, be a taster for the album of the year ? You know what, it just might be.
Josh Ritter is back with Jason Isbell produced record
Rolling Stone Country have got a lovely little piece up today about Josh Ritter’s forthcoming new album which is more political than some of Ritter’s offerings to date, and which features the 400 Unit as his band. It basically sounds awesome. They report: “It’s a rainy November evening in Nashville and Josh Ritter and Jason Isbell are huddled in front of the console at Sound Emporium Studios, an historic space located in an otherwise nondescript building in the city’s Belmont neighborhood. Continue reading “Josh Ritter is back with Jason Isbell produced record”
The 2018’s Americana UK readers’ poll results are here!
So here we go again – the last day of term and it’s prize day at Americana UK Towers. It was a classic year for americana in the UK, a year in which you actually had a choice of festivals to go to rather than a niche tent at the back of a field, and they weren’t small affairs either. Americana UK readers remain in the main a liberal progressive bunch who love the best of the genre but aren’t afraid to experiment. Basically we’re all still teenagers at heart. Thanks to all of you who took part in this year’s poll, and a special congratulations to David Provost who wins some nice promos which will be winging their way to you soon. So without further much ado about nothing, here are the winners… Continue reading “The 2018’s Americana UK readers’ poll results are here!”
Sturgill and Isbell to play Tibet House benefit
News from Pitchfork this afternoon that Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell have announced that they’ll be performing at the 32nd annual Tibet House US Benefit Concert which takes place at Carnegie Hall on February 7th. They report: “They will perform alongside previously announced guests New Order’s Bernard Sumner, Margo Price, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Jon Batiste, Stephen Colbert, and more. Philip Glass will be the evening’s artistic director. Tickets can be purchased on the Carnegie Hall website. Continue reading “Sturgill and Isbell to play Tibet House benefit”
Jason Isbell’s Ryman residency wins RS plaudits
Jason Isbell has begun six nights of performances in Nashville this week for this year’s residency (which have been happening since 2014) and RS Country has been writing about them in glowing terms. They wrote of the first night: “On Monday, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit performed like a renewed band, kicking off this year’s six-show Ryman takeover with a set that sounded studied, but no less soulful. The group’s arrangements have become more deliberate, with each dynamic shift emphasized by a light show that doubled down on the music’s unique punch. Continue reading “Jason Isbell’s Ryman residency wins RS plaudits”
RS Country interview Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires
RS Country are running a nice little (not so little actually) interview today with Americana royalty (in a Republican way) (that’s Republican in the UK sense) (why did I start this?) Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires who talk to them about their new albums, how they both met and speaking out in the era of Trump. Continue reading “RS Country interview Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires”
Jason Isbell is the Twitter big hitter against right wing trolls
RS Country has a nice piece in it today about Jason Isbell’s excellent track record with combating Trump supporting Twitter combatants which, let’s face it, would be a drain on anyone. They describe how almost a decade on from first joining the social-media service in March 2009, he has evolved into a blackbelt of the platform, “spending much of his downtime perfecting a delicate balance between music talk, irreverent fun and serious discourse. Continue reading “Jason Isbell is the Twitter big hitter against right wing trolls”
Jason Isbell dominates at 2018 AMAs
The 2018 Americana Music Association Awards took place last night, hosted by the lovely Milk Carton Kids, and no surprises for guessing who won a number of them (literally no surprises as we told you in the headline). Rolling Stone Country reports: “Jason Isbell reinforced his status as the king of the Americana genre at the 2018 Americana Honors & Awards. Continue reading “Jason Isbell dominates at 2018 AMAs”