The Grammy winner is touring acoustically with multi-night sit-downs in each city
Jason Isbell did a magical thing Thursday night (Feb 27th). He turned Washington, DC’s Warner Theater into Nashville’s fabled Bluebird Cafe. Just him, a guitar, and fans eager to listen.
Early in the set, Isbell played “King of Oklahoma.” The latter is a song from Isbell’s band The 400 Unit, and is haunting when stripped to just strings. He shared that he wrote the song while stuck in his trailer on a movie set in Oklahoma.
Isbell has a new solo album, Foxes in the Snow, releasing next Friday, March 7th. He played the title track and the unreleased “Gravelweed” back-to-back. He opened the night with “Bury Me.” That song, along with “Foxes in the Snow,” are available to stream as focus tracks prior to the full record’s release.
Foxes in the Snow was recorded in New York City at the famed Electric Lady Studios in October 2024. Recorded entirely on the same all-mahogany 1940 Martin 0-17 acoustic guitar, and in just five days, the album captures an artist at the peak of their powers. The virtuosic guitar playing and commanding vocal delivery on this collection are some of the most impressive of an already remarkable recording career. Isbell is one of the most highly lauded songwriters of his generation, and this stripped-back, bare-bones format puts his immense talent for evocative storytelling and the complete mastery of his craft on full display.
Isbell spoke to the crowd and made them laugh with one-liners delivered in his Alabama drawl. “I used to have to do acoustic shows to support my rock and roll band habit,” he told the crowd. And now he draws crowds whether the band is behind him or not.
And the crowd will sing regardless. The crowd joined in on 400 Unit number “Alabama Pines.” On the other end of the spectrum, Isbell gave an a capella stanza on “Live Oak.”
Isbell’s personal warmth and thoughtful songwriting shrunk the room to the size of a club. The stage draped in alternating curtains with decorative book-shaped light panels behind him, it was nice to have the atmosphere without an overwhelmingly indulgent design.
The show on Thursday was the first in a series of three shows Isbell will perform in DC at Warner Theater. The other shows are February 28th and March 1st. And he has other dates across this acoustic tour. No matter which you catch, you’re in for a treat as he changes up the setlist nightly. Proving one thing is for sure: Jason Isbell is a poet of southern life, his insights resonating globally.
