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The former bandmates performed their 2003 album Decoration Day on Saturday at ShoalsFest.
By Andy Kahn Oct 5, 2026 • 2:40 pm PDT
Jason Isbell reconnected with his former band Drive-By Truckers on Saturday for their first full set together in 19 years. The former bandmates came together at Isbell’s ShoalsFest, which took place last weekend at McFarland Park in Florence, Alabama, not far from where Isbell was born and raised.
Isbell founded ShoalsFest in 2019 once again headlined this year’s edition with his band Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. The two-day event came back last fall after a two-year hiatus. S.G. Goodman, Steve Trash, Willow Avalon and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy were also on this year’s lineup.
Isbell was a member of Drive-By Truckers from 2001 through 2007. The guitarist has performed with his one-time bandmates in various configurations in recent years, but ShoalsFest marked the first full set Isbell played with DBT since his departure from the band.
The reunion included a performance of all 15 songs on the 2003 Drive-By Truckers album Decoration Day. “Outfit” and the title track, both written and still performed in concert by Isbell, were reportedly performed by DBT for the first time since 2007.
Isbell and his former bandmates rounded out the set with a few other DBT songs. The setlist was inserted with “Uncle Frank” from Pizza Deliverance and “TVA” from The Dirty South, while “A World of Hurt” from A Blessing and a Curse, the last Drive-By Truckers album to feature Isbell, concluded the collaboration.
Isbell later headlined the night with The 400 Unit. Drive-By Truckers guitarists (and Florence-area natives) Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley returned to the stage during the encore for Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
Watch @rstner3053’s video footage from ShoalsFest 2026 below:
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The Deeper In
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Sink Hole
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Marry Me
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My Sweet Annette
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Outfit
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Heathens
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Sounds Better in the Song
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Hell No, I Ain’t Happy
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Uncle Frank
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TVA
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(Something’s Got to) Give Pretty Soon
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Your Daddy Hates Me
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Careless
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When the Pin Hits the Shell
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Do It Yourself
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Decoration Day
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Loaded Gun in the Closet
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A World of Hurt
Setlist data setlist.fm.
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