Jason Isbell - how big has he gotten?

Indeed on the Strings. Paul Buckmaster's final work.

 

The album was produced by Shooter Jennings and Dave Cobb, who are both country producers. I'd guess she's trying to tap into the same scene and fan base that Jason Isbell and Chris Stapleton are already representative of. I was having this same discussion with another poster. Her genre of music is much like John Hiatt's, hard to define. I think she's trying to find a home with outlaw country and Americana fans.

I recently discovered her off of last year's Old 97s album, so I guess this tactic is working.

 

You're pretty spot on. Americana. She touches on country. But also folk. And a sprinkling of rhythm and blues and occasional gospel. She's actually quite the lyrical storyteller.

She's freshly on my radar. My local radio station has been playing the Joke for a month. First time I heard that song, that voice the remote control for life pressed stop and everything did. Except for that song. It was a thunderstruck moment for me. I quickly consumed everything she did. It turns out there are more than a couple of songs she does I'm familiar with. I just didn't know her name.

It's good to continue to find musical surprises in life. Keeps a positive outlook. And hopeful there will be more.

 

I totally agree and cannot add more to this!

Some Old 97s for you:



I think Brandi is playing God here. If so, her answer gives me the chills. Great song.

 

Fantastic song. This album was tied for my personal 2017 album of the year.

 

I'm probably out to lunch on this, but I always thought the Truckers were quite big. (Of course, I'm also the one who just assumed Wilco was huge after Being There...until a friend told me, " Do you know that nobody even knows who Wilco is?" Which was news to me!)

Live in Alabama is a terrific Isbell & the 400 Unit album.

I liked Southeastern a lot ...but am not crazy about the latest release.

 

DBTs are big, but I feel like they've pretty much leveled off in the past few years and haven't really ever totally broken through. I mean, my mom and stepdad know Isbell's name but are clueless when I play DBT tracks for them. Not an entirely accurate metric by any means, but one I've found helpful when trying to understand the relative popularity of music outside of my bubble. DBTs seem to have settled into this pattern of one critically adored album after another while not really managing to break through to any new level. Isbell, on the other hand, just seems to have a profile that keeps rising and rising.

Again, I think he totally deserves it and he's worked really hard to get where he is today - good for him! Isbell or no, I always wanted DBTs to be bigger.

 

Health wise no doubt. But man those whiskey fueled shows were the real deal.

 

Yes, well said. To have three songwriters and three vocalists...incredible.

I have a 19 song Truckers playlist on my iPod and was just listening to it. It includes Isbell's Easy on Yourself, Daylight, Outfit and Decoration Day. I should have included Goddamn Lonely Love.

 

“Elephant” absolutely slays me every time it hear it.

 

I swear I remember The Truckers being the headliners of the hippy jam fests (like Bonnaroo) from the late 90s to the late 00s.

 

What was it tied with, if you don't mind me asking?

 

Definitely not. Bonarroo didn’t even exist until 2002. The truckers have never really headlined anything but theaters and in the early to mid sights were still playing clubs outside of the south. Their few amphitheater shows are always with co-headliners. They’ve never been close to being a headliner for an 80,000 person festival.

 

They played one of the tents there at least once, but I think 3 different years.

 

Yeah, I did say "festivals like". Telluride would be one and The Truckers were there in 2006. I'm pretty sure they were in more, but I cannot remember all of the festivals that used to happen back then. At the height of their popularity, then, they were a draw in those festivals.

 

It has a nice cover of Neil Young's "Like A Hurricane".

 

They still play at least 4-5 festivals a year. They headline a decent amount of them. They aren't huge festivals of course.

 

I saw the Truckers play Lollapalooza back in 2005, I can't remember the exact time of their performance but it was early to mid afternoon, so not exactly nearing headliner status.

 

Thanks for confirming those festivals. Headline might be a wavier point from what I remember, but I certainly remember them being in a bunch of festivals. Largely because I wanted to see them and it seemed the only way I could was at a festival. Not the case, now, but I lived in North West Ohio at that time.

 

I saw them (DBT) at a small festival in Toronto a couple years ago. It was a small festival and they were not headliners. As I said, they are opening for Tedeschi/Trucks this year at the same venue Isbell is headlining at.

 

Roger Waters "Is This the Life We Really Want". Different genre...but that's the way it goes sometimes!

 

Isbell is definitely bigger than DBT (which makes little sense to me but it is what it is) and I don't think anyone is arguing that point. Here in the Chapel Hill/Durham/Raleigh triangle DBT plays venues in the 1,000 capacity range while Isbell plays venues pushing 3,000 capacity.

 

Same here.
The question is - how will he do in a much larger venue?

I'm in. Or will be once I get around to buying a ticket. No hurry. I am not worried about it selling out. (should I be?)

I even wonder how Tedeschi Trucks, who I think is a bigger name, will do.

 

I saw Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit (with Frank Turner opening) at Red Rocks last year. Not sure what the total attendance was, but it looked pretty full and capacity is 9525.

 

If you want a decent seat instead of GA then, yes, you should buy your ticket. Even if he don't sell out the seats will be gone. I think I remember seeing 5000 seats at the venue you're talking about.