Jason Isbell Enthralls Crowd at Inaugural Peacemaker Festival in Fort Smith

by Julian Spivey
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit put on an absolutely enthralling performance on the first night of the inaugural Peacemaker Music and Artsfest in Fort Smith, Ark. on Friday, July 31.

Isbell was the headliner after an evening of great performances by bands like The Cate Brothers and Lucero.

Isbell, the incredibly acclaimed singer-songwriter out of Alabama, is fresh off of the release of his newest album Something More Than Free, which is currently the No. 1 album in the country on the Billboard country, rock, folk and indie albums charts (which is almost impossible to do and shows Isbell’s great reach in audience).

Isbell performed more than half of the tracks on his new album on Friday night and you could tell it has been an incredibly well-received album by fans because many in attendance already knew every single word to these new songs that have only been available for two weeks.

Isbell opened his show with the most rocking song from his newest album, “Palmetto Rose” – which brilliantly showcased the fact that Isbell would be bringing not only brilliant lyrics all night, but incredible guitar playing.

Grammy winner John Mayer recently tweeted: “Jason Isbell is the best lyric writer of my generation. He lives at a level where even great writers can only visit.”

Mayer’s praise is very accurate and Isbell’s songwriting skills are once again at the top of their game on Something More Than Free and that was shown in full force during his 90-minute set on Friday night with the terrifically written “24 Frames,” “If It Takes a Lifetime,” “The Life You Chose” and the title track from the album. Isbell also thrilled the excited audience with his fantastic guitar solo on “Children of Children” from the new album.

As great as Something More Than Free is it’ll actually be hard – believe it or not – to top Isbell’s previous album Southeastern, released in 2013, which was named Album of the Year by multiple outlets, including American Songwriter. Isbell didn’t ignore the success from Southeastern and performed five fan favorites from that album, including: “Stockholm,” “Different Days,” the rocking “Flying Over Water” and the utterly jaw-droppingly beautiful vocals on “Cover Me Up,” which truly entranced the crowd.

Among Isbell’s best performances on Friday night at the Peacemaker Festival were “Codeine” and “Alabama Pines” – which are two songs from his great 2011 album Here We Rest. “Alabama Pines” has always been my personal favorite song of Isbell’s and it’s always a great treat getting to hear him perform this former Americana Honors & Awards Song of the Year in person.

As likely all fans of Isbell’s know he used to be a singer/guitarist for the popular and acclaimed Southern Rock group Drive-By Truckers prior to going solo about a decade ago and among the most popular and fan-favorite performances at all of his shows were songs he wrote and recorded while he was with that band.

Isbell obliged the festival audience on Friday night with three songs he released with the Drive-By Truckers: the epic “Decoration Day,” one he doesn’t frequently perform in concert “Never Gonna Change” and “Outfit,” which all of his fans recognize as the one song he truly must perform at every single one of his shows.

A true highlight from Isbell’s performance was “Dress Blues,” which appeared on his 2007 debut solo album Sirens of the Ditch, about a soldier dying in war and the reaction of his loved ones back home. Isbell wrote the song in tribute to Corporal Matthew Conley, a soldier from his hometown that died in the Iraq War. Isbell has begun playing this song more often as it’s seen a second life thanks to its cover and addition on Zac Brown Band’s latest album Jekyll + Hyde.

Isbell has been getting tons of recognition for his amazing songwriting and beautiful albums these last few years, but what isn’t mentioned nearly enough is the stunning 400 unit – guitarist Sadler Vaden, bassist Jimbo Hart, drummer Chad Gamble and keyboardist Derry DeBorja. These four musicians build the terrific sound of Isbell’s live shows and their talent is really showcased on Something More Than Free after the whole band didn’t record on the quieter and stripped down Southeastern.

Isbell finished his both beautiful and raucous set with the rocking performance of “Never Gonna Change,” before returning to the Peacemaker Festival stage for an amazing three song encore that began with crowd favorite “Outfit” before thoroughly blasting everybody’s heads off with terrific jams on “Super 8” and a frequent Rolling Stones cover he likes to do of “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” to close out a wonderful night of music.

---