As he teased earlier this year, Jason Isbell is officially back with new music.
He returned Monday alongside his band the 400 Unite with their new song "Be Afraid," the gripping first cut off their upcoming album Reunions, which is coming May 15 via Southeastern Records/Thirty Tigers. It was produced by Grammy winner Dave Cobb at Nashville's historic RCA Studio A.
"There are a lot of ghosts on this album," says Isbell of the new record. "Sometimes the songs are about the ghosts of people who aren’t around anymore, but they’re also about who I used to be, the ghost of myself. I found myself writing songs that I wanted to write fifteen years ago, but in those days, I hadn’t written enough songs to know how to do it yet. Just now have I been able to pull it off to my own satisfaction. In that sense it’s a reunion with the me I was back then."
In addition to the new album, Isbell has confirmed plans for a spring tour in support of the record. Tickets for a majority of the new dates go on sale this Friday (Feb. 14).
Hear "Be Afraid" below.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit's live schedule:
February 29—Tempe, AZ—Innings Festival
March 26—Savannah, GA—Savannah Music Festival
March 27—St. Augustine, FL—St. Augustine Amphitheatre
March 28—Mobile, AL—Saenger Theatre
March 29—Montgomery, AL—Montgomery Performing Arts Center
May 22—Boston, MA—Boston Calling
May 29—Bethel, NY—Mountain Jam
June 3—Philadelphia, PA—Met Opera House
June 4—Vienna, VA—Wolf Trap
June 5—New York, NY—Rooftop at Pier 17
June 6—New York, NY—Rooftop at Pier 17
June 8—Durham, NC—Durham Performing Arts Center
June 9—Durham, NC—Durham Performing Arts Center
June 11—Atlanta, GA—The Coca-Cola Roxy
June 12—Atlanta, GA—The Coca-Cola Roxy
June 13—Manchester, TN—Bonnaroo
June 18—Milwaukee, WI—Riverside Theater
June 19—Minneapolis, MN—The Armory
June 20—East Moline, IL—Rust Belt
June 21—St. Louis, MO—The Stifel Theatre
June 23—Grand Rapids, MI—DeVos Performance Hall
June 25—Toronto, ON—Meridian Hall
June 26—Moon Township, PA—UPMC Events Center
June 27—Williamsburg, VA—Williamsburg Live at DeWitt Museum Lawn
June 28—Boone, NC—Schafer Center for the Performing Arts
July 18-19—Whitefish, MT—Under The Big Sky Festival
July 20—Vancouver, BC—The Orpheum
July 21—Seattle, WA—Paramount Theatre
July 22—Portland, OR—Theater of the Clouds
July 24—San Francisco, CA—The Warfield Theatre
July 25—San Francisco, CA—The Warfield Theatre
July 26—Santa Barbara, CA—Santa Barbara Bowl
July 28—San Diego, CA—Humphreys Concerts By The Bay
July 29—Los Angeles, CA—The Greek Theatre
July 31—Reno, NV—Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort
August 1—Salt Lake City, UT—Eccles Theater
August 2—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks
August 4—Bonner Springs, KS—Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
August 5—Little Rock, AR—First Security Amphitheater
August 7—Austin, TX—ACL Live at the Moody Theater
August 8—Austin TX—ACL Live at the Moody Theater
August 9—Dallas, TX—Bomb Factory
August 29—Chicago, IL—Wrigley Field
September 11-13—Bristol, TN—Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion
November 6—Oslo, Norway—Spektrum
November 7—Stockholm, Sweden—Stockholm Waterfront
November 8—Copenhagen, Denmark—Vega
November 10—Berlin, Germany—Festsaal Kreuzberg
November 11—Amsterdam, Netherlands—Paradiso
November 14—Antwerp, Belgium—De Roma
November 15—Koln, Germany—Gloria
November 17—London, UK—Eventim Apollo
November 18—Manchester, UK—Albert Hall
November 19—Dublin, Ireland—Olympia Theatre