When Jason Isbell was recruited to play guitar for the Drive-By Truckers early in this decade, he was a recent college grad joining an established band. He was expected to be a bit player. Instead, Isbell provided eight songs across the three Drive-By Truckers albums he appeared on, most memorably his first, “Outfit,” an instant DBT standard on 2003’s Decoration Day.
But the partnership wasn’t meant to last. Isbell had always wanted to be a solo artist and, more than a decade younger than Hood and Cooley, had different goals. So, Isbell left the band and launched a solo career earlier this year with Sirens of the Ditch, a sharp record that continues the Southern rock sound the Truckers are known for but expands Isbell’s palette with dabs of swamp rock, blues, and torch-song soul.
Isbell plays Proud Larry’s in Oxford, Mississippi, on Saturday, September 22nd. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10.
— Chris Herrington