When Isbell was a teenager, many musicians took him under their wing.
Drive-By Truckers In 2001, at age 22, Isbell joined the Drive-By Truckers while they toured in support of their album
Southern Rock Opera. The band operated out of
Athens, Georgia, where Isbell lived while with the band. Co-founder
Patterson Hood recalls that he met Isbell through Dick Cooper, a mutual friend from Muscle Shoals. Hood invited Isbell to join the Drive-By Truckers after he sat in with the group at an acoustic house party when guitarist Rob Malone did not show up. Isbell recorded and contributed many songs to the Drive-By Truckers for their next three albums, 2003's
Decoration Day, 2004's
The Dirty South, and 2006's
A Blessing and a Curse. The title track of
Decoration Day was revealed by Isbell in the 2014
Live from Lincoln Center concert to be a true story about his family members. For most of his time as a band member, Isbell was married to
Shonna Tucker, who joined the band after Isbell as bassist. The two were part of the band's documentary,
The Secret to a Happy Ending. The two later divorced. On April 5, 2007, Isbell announced that he was no longer a member of the Drive-By Truckers. The following day, Patterson Hood confirmed the break on the band's official site. In his letter to the fans, Hood described the parting of ways as "amicable" and expressed the hope that fans would continue to support the Drive-By Truckers as well as Isbell's solo efforts. Isbell had been with the Drive-By Truckers for six years. The sold-out acoustic performance was the first time Isbell had performed with his former bandmates since they split in 2007. In August 2015, Hood joined Isbell onstage and played a couple of Drive-By Truckers songs together in Hood's new adopted hometown of
Portland, Oregon.
Solo work Isbell released his first solo album,
Sirens of the Ditch, on July 10, 2007. In 2012, Isbell supported singer-songwriter
Ryan Adams on his tour. Both played solo acoustic sets. On June 11, 2013, Isbell released his fourth solo album,
Southeastern. Produced by
Dave Cobb and featuring accompanying vocals by
Kim Richey and Isbell's wife,
Amanda Shires,
Southeastern received overwhelmingly positive critical reviews, earning a score of 87 on
Metacritic.
Southeastern led to Isbell's clean sweep of the
2014 Americana Music Awards.
Southeastern won Album of the Year, Isbell was named Artist of the Year, and the song "
Cover Me Up" was named Song of the Year. It was later certified Gold by
RIAA in 2022.
NPR rock critic Ken Tucker listed
Southeastern at No. 1 on his top ten albums of 2013. Isbell's record received praise by artists like
Bruce Springsteen and
John Prine. The music video for the song "Traveling Alone" features the Jackson House, a historic home in
Moulton, Alabama. Isbell's fifth solo record,
Something More Than Free, was released on July 17, 2015, on Southeastern Records.
Dave Cobb again produced the album, which was recorded at
Nashville's
Sound Emporium Studios with a full band. During the summer of 2015, Isbell was on a North American tour to promote the album, with four consecutive sold-out nights at the
Ryman Auditorium in Nashville at the end of October. In April 2016, Isbell appeared on the
BBC live-music show
Later With Jools Holland, singing "The Life You Chose", one of the tracks from
Something More Than Free. Isbell said that compared to
Southeastern, Something More Than Free has a feeling of celebration, which reflects his upcoming fatherhood and a forward-facing momentum. One track on the record, "To a Band I Loved", is a love-letter to the band
Centro-Matic, a now defunct band from
Denton, Texas, Isbell played with back in his Drive-By Truckers days. Although Isbell had had critical success in the
Americana genre, this was the first time he received such high ranking across genres. The album was well received, winning two Grammy awards for Best Americana Album and Best American Roots Song ("24 Frames"). On May 11, 2016, Isbell, a four-time winner, was nominated for three more
Americana Music Honors & Awards: Album of the Year (
Something More Than Free), Song of the Year ("24 Frames"), and Artist of the Year. He won the first two, while
Chris Stapleton won Artist of the Year.
The 400 Unit Isbell's band, the 400 Unit, was primarily made up of musicians from the
Muscle Shoals, Alabama, area. , the band's lineup was: •
Sadler Vaden, guitar, backup vocals – also of
Drivin' N Cryin' • Anna Butterss, bass guitar, upright bass •
Derry deBorja, keyboard, accordion, backup vocals – formerly of
Son Volt •
Chad Gamble, drums, backup vocals •
Will Johnson, guitar, backing vocals, drums/percussion, gong The band's name comes from the 400 Unit, a colloquial name for the psychiatric ward of Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital in
Florence, Alabama. It was originally called the 400 Unit because it was in a separate building from the main three-story hospital. After renovation in the 1980s, the ward was renamed as the Behavioral Health Center, also known as 1st North, and is located on the hospital's first floor. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit's
eponymous album was released on February 17, 2009, on Lightning Rod Records.
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit was Isbell's second solo release and his first release with The 400 Unit.
Matt Pence of
Centro-Matic co-produced and engineered the record, as well as playing drums on the record. The band released their self-recorded and produced second album,
Here We Rest, on April 12, 2011, on Lightning Rod Records. The song "Alabama Pines" was named Song of the Year at the 2012
Americana Music Awards. On March 13, 2017, Isbell announced a new album with the 400 Unit,
The Nashville Sound, which released in June of that year. The album was a critical success, with Isbell and the band winning the
Grammy Award for Best Americana Album and Isbell capturing the
Grammy Award for Best American Roots Song at the
60th Annual Grammy Awards. In October 2017, Isbell was announced to be the official artist-in-residence at the
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The following year he made a guest appearance on
John Prine's album
The Tree of Forgiveness. Isbell also contributed the ballad "Maybe It's Time" to the soundtrack of the 2018 film
A Star Is Born, where it was performed by actor
Bradley Cooper's character, Jackson Maine.
Reunions, the band's next album, was announced in February 2020 and released on May 15 of that year. Isbell once again worked with producer
Dave Cobb on the album which featured guest vocals by
David Crosby as well as Jay Buchanan of
Rival Sons. The album announcement was made alongside the release of the first song of the album, "Be Afraid", which peaked at an Isbell career high number 5 on the
Adult Alternative Songs chart. The album's second single, "Dreamsicle" peaked at number 20 on the same chart. On November 5, 2020, Isbell announced on
Twitter that if
Joe Biden won the state of
Georgia in the
2020 United States presidential election, he would record a charity album featuring covers of songs by Georgia artists, such as
R.E.M. and
Gladys Knight. After it was projected that Biden had
won the state, he reaffirmed his pledge and said work would begin on the album shortly. The album, entitled
Georgia Blue, was formally announced on September 14, 2021, with release dates of October 15 for the digital version and November 26 for CD and vinyl. Isbell and the 400 Unit also contributed a cover of the Metallica song "
Sad but True" to the charity tribute album
The Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021. In June 2023, Isbell and the 400 Unit released the album,
Weathervanes, on Isbell's own Southeastern Records label. The album, produced by Isbell, includes the singles "Strawberry Woman", "Cast Iron Skillet", and "Miles". In February 2024, Isbell was nominated and won two
Grammys, for Best Americana Song: "Cast Iron Skillet" and Best Americana Album:
Weathervanes. == Acting ==