Two key players from the fertile US Americana scene, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit and Deer Tick begin their tour of Australia at the end of next week.
In just ten action-packed years the career of Jason Isbell has transformed from being third-string singer-songwriter in legendary Southern rockers Drive-By Truckers to one of the most revered voices on the American circuit.
Influenced by the soul music so intrinsically tied to his homeland of Northern Alabama as well as the more traditional country and folk staples, the songwriting of Jason Isbell is rich and powerful and disarmingly expressive. American Songwriter Magazine recently espoused, “There’s no better songwriter on the planet at the moment, no one operating with the same depth, eloquence or feeling”. Backed by his road-hardened band The 400 Unit, Isbell is one of the most potent acts on the road today, performing some of the finest songs penned in the last decade.
His recent sixth solo album The Nashville Sound debuted at #4 on the US Billboard 200 chart, also topping the US Country, US Folk and US Rock charts (as did its 2015 predecessor Something More Than Free). Something More Than Free also scored Isbell twin Grammys for Best Americana Album and Best American Roots Song (for single ’24 Frames’), as well as taking home Album Of The Year at the prestigious Americana Music Honors and Awards ceremony.
Providence, Rhode Island four-piece Deer Tick are another band who’ve been galvanised by years traversing the highways and byways of America, honing their craft for well over a decade to become one of the most respected acts on the unforgiving American scene.
Having long straddled the divide between country-rock and straight-out rock’n’roll, Deer Tick’s most recent pair of releases Vol 1 and Vol 2 (their sixth and seventh albums respectively, released concurrently earlier this year) showcase the band’s polished dichotomy, Vol 1 focussing on the band’s softer Americana tendencies while Vol 2 flexes its muscles to showcase Deer Tick’s more punk-inspired, garage rock predilections.
Neither of these acts are strangers to Australian shores – this impending jaunt being Jason Isbell’s fifth time Down Under and Deer Tick’s second – but together they are one of the most potent roots-rock double bills around. Book your memories now, this is an Americana tour de force not to be missed!
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit + Deer Tick
Australian and NZ Tour
March 24 – Palais Theatre, Melbourne
March 25 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
March 27 – Town Hall, Auckland