Drive-By Truckers’ 2003 album Decoration Day, was the first to feature Jason Isbell. He had joined the band two years earlier, following the release of Southern Rock Opera. Following Decoration Day, Isbell would contribute to two additional DTB recordings: The Dirty South (2004) and A Blessing and a Curse (2006). Then, in 2007, Isbell parted ways with the band and embarked on a solo career.
On Saturday Isbell reunited with Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and the Truckers at Shoals Fest in Florence, AL. This is the fifth year of the event, which Isbell curates in his home state. The roster of performers also included Isbell and the 400 Unit, Jeff Tweedy, S.G. Goodman, Steve Trash, and others.
Isbell and Drive-By Truckers performed Decoration Day in its entirety. This represented the first time that Isbell played an entire set with the group since his departure. It also marked the first occasion that DBT presented the whole record in the live setting. A few clips from the performance appear below, including the title track, which was Isbell’s songwriting contribution to the record. After offering Decoration Day from start to finish, the collective closed out the set with “A World of Hurt,” the closing song on A Blessing and a Curse. Later on Saturday, Hood and Cooley joined Isbell and the 400 Unit for Neil Young’s “Rockin' in the Free World” during their encore.
Proceeds from Shoals Fest will be directed to Nuçi’s Space, which focuses on musicians as it “advocates for and helps to alleviate the suffering for those living with a brain illness and fights to end the stigma of mental illness.”
