A Free Man

Bendigo will be treated to a small taste of Bluesfest in 2016, with Jason Isbell set to perform at the Ulumbarra Theatre on March 31.
Following the departure of Rob Malone, Isbell joined Drive-By Truckers as the band’s third guitarist in 2001. He was 22 at the time, and toured with the band in support of Southern Rock Opera. He enjoyed a decent stint in the band, solidly contributing to their next three albums (Decoration Day, The Dirty South and Blessing and a Curse), before being fired in 2007. Throwing himself into his work, he released his solo debut, Sirens of the Ditch, mid-year of 2007. Among those who helped him put together the album was organist Spooner Oldham, who has contributed keys to Wilson Pickett’s ‘Mustang Sally’ and Aretha Franklin’s ‘I Never Loved a Man’ among others.
In 2009, he introduced his band on his second album, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. Rounding up musicians from the Muscle Shoals, Alabama area, the 400 Unit refers to the colloquial name for a psychiatric ward of Florence, Alabama’s Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital. This year saw the release of his fifth album, Something More Than Free. The album debuted at the #1 position on Billboard’s rock, folk and country record charts.