Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit Finish Ryman Residency With More R.E.M. Covers

This year’s Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit residency at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium wrapped with the final shows of the eight-date engagement. The band continued to honor the music of R.E.M., beginning each night’s encore with a cover of a song by the Rock & Roll Hall Famers from Athens, Georgia.

Frontman Jason Isbell and his bandmates led off last night’s encore with “Finest Worksong” from R.E.M.’s fifth studio album, 1987’s Document. Show eight also saw opener Kim Richey come out during Isbell’s main set to perform “Stockholm” and “Relatively Easy.” Richey contributed to the recordings of those songs on Isbell’s 2013 album, Southeastern.

Saturday’s penultimate show of this year’s Ryman residency saw Isbell and The 400 Unit deliver “Man on the Moon” at the start of the encore. The song appeared on R.E.M.’s eighth album, 1992’s Automatic For The People. Friday’s R.E.M. cover at the start of the encore was “Losing My Religion,” which was also performed on opening night of the Ryman run.

Additional R.E.M. covers played by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit over the course of their 2024 Ryman residency included “Driver 8,” which joined Isbell’s live repertoire after the band recorded the song for the 2021 covers compilation Georgia Blue.

Show three featured R.E.M.’s “It's The End Of The World As We Know It” at the start of the encore. Isbell performed “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It” in June when he inducted R.E.M. into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The fourth show of this year’s Ryman residency brought “The One I Love” into the fold. Isbell recently played “The One I Love” with R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe at a campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris. Night five’s R.E.M. cover was “Fall On Me.”

Watch audience-shot video clips of this weekend’s R.E.M. covers below: