Where to begin with Jason Isbell? The Alabama native has become one of the most acclaimed figures on the Americana scene ever since he rose to fame as a member of the band Drive-By Truckers in the early 2000s. Since then he’s won over critics and audiences alike with both his solo work – including his seminal album ‘Southeastern’ which celebrates its 10th anniversary last year – and performing alongside his band The 400 Unit, who released their latest record ‘Weathervanes’ last year. This week he’s been over here as part of the UK Americana Awards – where he picked up the Trailblazer Award – as well as playing two sold-out London shows, including last night’s set at Cadogan Hall.
Arriving on stage around 8.25 in a simple black suit and green shirt, and backed by two acoustic guitars, Isbell opened his set with ‘If You Insist’ from ‘Weathervanes’. The song took on a slower, more melodic feel than the recorded version initially, before picking up into a driving rhythm that gave Isbell a chance to show off his impressive guitar playing skills as his fingers flew up and down the neck of the instrument. The rawness of his vocal conveyed the bittersweet narrative of the song fantastically well and the audience burst into enormous cheers and applause as he brought them to a close.
Over the next 90 minutes, Isbell took the audience on a journey through his musical career, performing songs from across his catalogue as a solo artist as well as his work with The 400 Unit. ’24 Frames’ had a raw, punchy feel about it, with Isbell practically bent double as he unleashed a volley of energy into the microphone, whilst ‘Different Days’ provided a mellow, bittersweet moment as well as some Spanish-influenced guitar melodies alongside the reflective lyrics, and ‘Goddamn Lonely Love’ didn’t so much tug at the heartstrings as yank them out of your chest. Elsewhere, the sparse ‘Speed Trap Town’ painted a wistful yet detailed picture of a lonely soul yearning for escape, ‘Travelling Alone’ perfectly captured the sense of loneliness and isolation of its narrator, and ‘Alabama Pines’ had a brightness that provided a great contrast for its lyrics of confronting one’s past and missing home. Isbell is a genius at creating multi-layered characters who feel so real that you feel you’ve known them for years, and this stripped-back approach is perfect for bringing them to life.
One thing which really struck me about Isbell’s performance was his humour and storytelling throughout the set. He cracked jokes about everything from audience members nitpicking his lyrics – which led to a brilliant line about ‘gentlemen’s clubs not being for gentlemen’ – and rollerskating across the stage, to good-naturedly attributing his raspy throat to his daughter recently starting school and catching something off ‘one of those Stapleton kids’. It really added to the warmth and intimacy of his performance and further elevated his connection with the audience, who whooped and cheered the opening notes of almost every song. I also loved hearing the stories from his career, whether that was recalling his first London performances at the much-missed Borderline with Drive-By Truckers (and musing on the hygienic qualities of illegal substances being wrapped in paper), reminiscing about trying to appease John Prine with chocolate cake or his experience writing for ‘Weathervanes’ on the set of ‘Killers of The Flower Moon’.
Unsurprisingly much of Isbell’s set came from ‘Weathervanes’ and ‘Southeastern’. From the former, ‘Strawberry Woman’ had a warm, affectionate quality and some brilliant imagery (“you were thick cut bacon on Texas toast” being a particular highlight), whilst ‘King Of Oklahoma’ saw him indulge his rockier side with a sound that harked back to 90s indie, a stomping rhythm and a real edge to his voice that added a great sense of darkness as he belted out the lyrics. However, the standout song for me was ‘Elephant’. A frank yet simple look at a lover dying from cancer, Isbell’s soft subdued delivery of the song really drew the emotions out of it and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house by the end. You could have absolutely heard a pin drop as he played it, before the audience burst into the loudest roar of the night on the final note and he cracked a joke about a heckler at a previous show shouting “play a sad song!” right afterwards. That absolutely summed up his performance to me and was a really special moment.
After a tender, sweet rendition of ‘If We Were Vampires’ – which he introduced with a story about how watching ‘Hoarders’ inspired the song – Isbell closed the main portion of his set with ‘Cover Me Up’. It’s become his signature song and even though he had to lower the key twice, the lush, sensual quality of the track really resonated and he had an utterly magnetic quality about him throughout. The audience rose to their feet as he finished with thunderous applause and cheers, and shortly afterwards he returned to repay them with a two-song encore, beginning with his take on Townes Van Zandt’s ‘Pancho and Lefty’ (which he described as his and his daughter’s favourite song). The richness of his vocals really added to the narrative and you could tell the song is close to his heart. He finished up with ‘Cast Iron Skillet’ from ‘Weathervanes’, which felt like a life instruction manual for the audience, and had a touching, genuine feel alongside nostalgic touches and delicate guitar playing. It finished the show on a really hopeful note and saw him get another standing ovation from the audience as he departed the stage.
It might only be January, but Jason Isbell’s solo show already feels like it’s set the benchmark for gigs for the rest of 2024. With his fantastic musicianship, impassioned and powerful vocals, and rich, vivid songwriting, he showed exactly why he’s one of the most well-regarded performers on the Americana circuit today and has become a modern legend of the genre. At the start of the night he “promise[d] to try to do a good job” – and I would say he absolutely delivered a truly magical, intimate evening of music. He’ll be back over here with the 400 Unit in November, so make sure you snap up a ticket when they go on sale on Friday!
Set list: 1. If You Insist 2. 24 Frames 3. Different Days 4. Goddamn Lonely Love 5. Strawberry Woman 6. Speed Trap Town 7. Travelling Alone 8. Live Oak 9. Alabama Pines 10. Elephant 11. King Of Oklahoma 12. If We Were Vampires 13. Cover Me Up Encore: 14. Pancho And Lefty (Townes Van Zandt cover) 15. Cast Iron Skillet Performance date: 26th January 2024
See Jason Isbell on tour with The 400 Unit in the UK this November – tickets on sale from 10AM on Friday 2nd February:
Monday 18 November – Brighton Dome, Brighton
Tuesday 19 November – O2 Apollo, Manchester
Wednesday 20 November – Usher Hall, Edinburgh
Friday 22 November – Beacon, Bristol
Saturday 23 November – Civic at the Halls, Wolverhampton
Sunday 24 November – Stockton Globe, Stockton-on-Tees
Monday 25 November – Eventim Apollo, London
