Concert Review & Photos: Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit at The Factory

Singer/songwriter Jason Isbell, formerly of the Drive-By Truckers, made a stop at The Factory on Thursday night, along with his band the 400 Unit. The venue wasn’t sold-out, but had a nice, sizable crowd for a weeknight show.

Isbell is on tour, supporting the band’s latest and quite possibly all-around best effort Weathervanes. The band also has a forthcoming live album that drops October 4.

Isbell and crew sounded as good as advertised, opening the show with When We Were Close and Flying Over Water. The band then played King of Oklahoma, quite possibly one of Isbell’s finest songs to date. Isbell showed off his guitar prowess during the haunting song.

On a night where the band played a majority of songs from their newest release, which the majority of the 2,500-plus seemed to welcome, Isbell also tossed in some of his older material, including the beautifully written Cover Me Up and closed with Decoration Day, an old Drive-By Truckers tune.

In a music industry dominated by cookie cutter acts and auto-tune, Isbell has become more of a rarity, yet more of a necessity. Singer/songwriters like Isbell are more important than ever right now for the music industry. It’s important that acts such as Isbell continue to thrive, despite limited airplay. While country artists like Jason Aldean may be more popular, they are also more fluff and bullshit. Isbell continues to write honest and at times heartbreaking songs about Americana, and that is something he should be applauded for.

Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit at The Factory gets an A-.

Check out our photos below by Jeremy Housewright.