As Drive-By Truckers prepare to celebrate 2003’s Decoration Day with a lavish reissue, the Athens, GA, Southern rockers will reunite with their former guitarist, some guy named Jason Isbell. Both parties, who have not announced a performance together since Isbell split from the band in 2007, will make a one-off appearance together on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Friday, December 2nd.
Isbell joined the already-established Truckers in 2001, following the release of their 2001 breakout concept album, Southern Rock Opera. The 2003 follow-up, Decoration Day, marked the first of three albums Isbell would record with DB-T. Though Isbell didn’t have nearly as many songs on Decoration Day as primary songwriters Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, Jason did pen the title track and “Outfit”, two of his most iconic songs from his Truckers era, which he still occasionally plays live to this day. Though he had only two songs on the album, issuing “Decoration Day” and “Outfit” as his first original releases was a pretty strong opening statement.
Isbell stuck around the Truckers for The Dirty South (2004) and A Blessing and A Curse (2006) before splitting in 2007 to pursue a solo career. Both parties have said Isbell left on good terms, and he has sporadically reunited with Hood and Cooley over the years, notably at a 2014 trio benefit concert in Florence, AL, which was later released as a live album. Isbell made a surprise sit-in with the Truckers at his curated Shoalsfest back in 2021 for “Heathens” and “The Day John Henry Died”, but next month will be their first announced performance together since 2007.
“Although we have always remained friends with Jason, and honestly he and I are closer now than ever, this is our first ‘announced’ appearance together in nearly 20 years,” Hood shared in a statement. “I consider Decoration Day to be our masterpiece, and he was such an integral part of that album that it’s wonderful that he’s able to join us in celebrating this release. Colbert has always been our favorite, so we are really psyched to be on his show again, with our previous appearance being the week of the election in 2016. This is a rare treat for us (and you).”
Isbell added, “The legacy of the band has definitely grown, and there’s a new appreciation for the Truckers and especially for that era of Decoration Day. Without them, you wouldn’t have the kind of work being done by MJ Lenderman and Wednesday and Waxahatchee and a bunch of other acts. I can hear the Truckers in all that music.”
Ahead of the appearance, Drive-By Truckers will release The Definitive Decoration Day on Friday, November 14th. The expanded 4LP reissue includes the classic 2003 album, remastered by engineer Greg Calbi (Born To Run, Blood on the Tracks, Lust for Life), plus a double live album documenting the band’s June 20th, 2002, acoustic show at the Flicker Bar in Athens, GA. As Hood explained in the album announcement, DB-T was nominated for several awards at the Athfest/Flagpole Music Awards, and dressed up in vintage suits to play a few songs downtown at the Morton Theatre. Afterward, the band decided to play an acoustic late show at the 75-capacity Flicker Bar, ultimately playing all but one song from the then-unfinished Decoation Day.
View this post on Instagram
Tune in to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS at 11:35 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 2nd, to see Drive-By Truckers and Jason Isbell perform together for the first time since 2007. Revisit Isbell’s time with the band with a performance of “Decoration Day” from 2003 in Athens, GA.
Drive-By Truckers — “Decoration Day” — Athens, GA — 9/6/03
[Video: HIBBOTTE, Inc.]
View this post on Instagram