Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Heat Up Pier Six Pavilion – 7/15/25

July 17, 2025

David LaMason

Jason Isbell is an artist whose life has been defined by music. From the early teen years in Florence, Alabama playing local bars to his work with The Drive-By Truckers in his early 20’s and then his own solo career it’s a life monumentalized in song. So, it comes as no surprise that one of his most personal records – the recently released Foxes In The Snow – was a largely solo acoustic collection of heartbreak and reflection.

After touring the material with just him and an acoustic guitar earlier in the year, Isbell started on a full band tour with the 400 Unit, stopping at Baltimore’s Pier Six Concert Pavilion on Tuesday evening to not only showcase a lot of the new material but also kick off the cobwebs and do some rocking.

Without an opening act, Isbell and the 400 Unit took the stage early in the evening just as the breeze started waving across the harbor, cooling down what’s been an unending barrage of hot weather.

Right off the bat, the band went into a very electric version of “Crimson and Clay” from the new record. A good song being a good song no matter how you play it, the tune sounded great. I’ve heard loud songs being stripped down for acoustic renditions (the whole MTV Unplugged series comes to mind) but getting to hear the alternative version as a loud rocker was something new.

At this point, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit are so locked in that watching them perform is like watching the rhythm of the waves. They move in unison, ebbing and flowing with intention. Harmonies between Isbell, Will Johnson (guitar/drums), and Sadler Vaden (guitar) were sharp, and hearing the dueling drums from Johnson and Chad Gamble was fun to witness.

This show had a little bit of everything with singles like “24 Frames” and “If We Were Vampires” and even some old Drive-By Truckers via “Danko/Manuel” and an encore of “Decoration Day.”

It was a delight to see Isbell, Vaden, and bassist and Australian Anna Butterss riffing off each other and having a great time while Baltimore native Derry deBorja held things down on the keys.

Taking in the scenery, Isbell remarked on the weather. “What a beautiful evening… A little breeze coming through the sausages shack.” Joking, he continued, “My rider is the opposite of Morrissey’s. If he can smell meat he won’t go onstage, but for me if I cannot smell meat I won’t go onstage, so thanks to the meat truck.”

Watch the Live Acoustic Version of “Crimson and Clay” (Live at the Capitol Theatre)

In the midst of the rockers, there were some quieter numbers. The mostly acoustic “Strawberry Woman” from 2023’s Weathervanes and the great “Traveling Alone” from Southeastern seemed, though, the exception to the set filled with louder tunes that got fans up and dancing in the aisles.

Speaking of loud, one of the highlights of the evening were some of the loudest, like “Super 8” and the big cacophonous end of “Miles” as lines of guitar soared across the pier culminating in the clash of a gong supplied by Johnson. “I don’t think we could’ve gotten that gong in the Ottobar,” Isbell remarked about the old club’s original location. “We could have fit that in there but I think that was the size of the stage. The size of the stage at the old Ottobar was the size of that gong. But we had fun, though.”

Finishing up the regular set with “King of Oklahoma,” the band returned to the stage to encore with the aforementioned “Decoration Day,” “True Believer,” and leaving us all with “This Ain’t It.”

Jason Isbell knows how to write a great song and Tuesday night he reminded us all that he puts on one heck of a show too. Catch Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit through the Fall.

The setlist included:

Crimson and Clay
When We Were Close
Tupelo
Gravelweed
24 Frames
Strawberry Woman
The Life You Chose
Traveling Alone
Miles
Open and Close
Alabama Pines
Bury Me
Danko/Manuel (Drive‐By Truckers cover)
Flying Over Water
If We Were Vampires
Super 8
Dreamsicle
King of Oklahoma