Drive-By Truckers Schedule 1st Official Performance With Jason Isbell In 18 Years

Drive-By Truckers scheduled their first performance with former member Jason Isbell since his exit from the band in 2007. The guitarist will reunite with his one-time bandmates for an upcoming appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

The performance coincides with tomorrow’s arrival of The Definitive Decoration Day. The album is an expanded reissue of their 2002 release, Decoration Day, which was their first recorded with Isbell.

DBT will reunite with Isbell on the December 2 episode of The Late Show. Since his final show with the band in March 2007, Isbell has shared the live stage with his former bandmates several times.

“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,’ Drive-By Truckers’ Patterson Hood stated. “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).”

The Definitive Decoration Day presents a remixed and remastered version of the album, as well as the previously unreleased double live album, Heathens Live at Flicker Bar, Athens, GA – June 20, 2002 (stream below). The stripped-down acoustic recording includes some of the live debuts of songs on the Decoration Day tracklist.

“The legacy of [Drive-By Truckers] has definitely grown,” Isbell added. “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.”