Tag: Jason Isbell

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 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 did an interview with Pod Save America co-host Tommy Vietor last month who used to be a spokesperson for President Obama but also happened to be a passionate Isbell fan.  He caught up with Jason after his show at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, and talked about a lot of interesting stuff, much of it political given recent events.  Rolling Stone has highlighted six of the most interesting things to come out of the conversation. You can hear the whole thing below if you have a spare half an hour. Continue reading “Isbell: If the Dixie Chicks had been Tim McGraw, nobody would have cared”

Don’t tell Jeremy Hunt for God’s sake Jason.  News from RS Country today around a spat that’s broken out between the lovely Mr Isbell and the Republican Party in the US.  RS Country report: ““I was thinking today about how it feels to be an unhinged leftist,” quipped Jason Isbell two songs into a solo acoustic performance early Monday evening in Nashville, a short-notice but instantly sold-out rally for Democrat Tennessee senate candidate Phil Bredesen. Referencing shots fired earlier that day at left-leaning entertainers by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) — who, in an official statement, called out Isbell and co-headliner Ben Folds by name as members of the “unhinged left” — the outspoken country firebrand went on. “For the first time in my life I’m hinged. I quit drinking years ago, I got a three-year-old daughter… I’m hinged as hell!” Continue reading “Jason Isbell tells Republicans: “I’m hinged as hell!””

Jason Isbell hits the UK next week for an appearance at the Black Deer Festival down in Kent and if you can’t make it there in person, the next best thing is listening from the comfort of your own armchair/kitchen stool/car. RS Country report: “For Americana fans, one of the live music highlights of 2017 was Jason Isbell’s historic six-night, sold out run at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Now, Isbell has two exciting new Ryman-related announcements. Continue reading “New Isbell live album on the way”

Rolling Stone Country are carrying this clip today which you can throw yourself into below – it was recorded at the new ‘Outlaws & Armadillos: Country’s Roaring ’70s’ exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Put together by Shooter Jennings and Dave Cobb, it featured musicianship from the likes of Amanda Shires, Robby Turner, Chris Hennessee,  Charlie Worsham, Chris Shiflett and Jason Isbell. Isbell himself performed Townes Van Zandt’s ‘Pancho and Lefty’ with backing from the trouble and strife/musical partner on fiddle and harmony vocals. As RS put it “Turner’s mournful pedal steel and Hennessee’s subtle harmonica accented the rendition, but it was Isbell’s slide guitar solo that brought it to its rousing denouement, as Isbell sang the final verse ­– handled by the late Jody Payne when Nelson performed it on tour – about Lefty living in that cheap hotel.”