Long before he was steering The 400 Unit, singer Jason Isbell was a member of Drive-By Truckers. And on Tuesday evening’s The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, the collective reunited for a rollicking performance of “Hell No, I Ain’t Happy.” Check out the performance below.
The reunion comes as Drive-By Truckers recently reissued 2003’s Decoration Day. Redubbed The Definitive Decoration Day, the LP is fully remixed (by original producer David Barbe) and remastered (courtesy of Greg Calbi), and comes complete with new live songs taken from a 2002 set at Athens’ Flicker Bar.
Get Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Tickets Here
“We have always remained friends with Jason, and honestly he and I are closer now than ever,” frontman Patterson Hood said in a statement for the re-release. “I consider Decoration Day to be our masterpiece, and he was such an integral part of that album that it’s wonderful that he’s able to join us in celebrating this release.”
Related Video
Isbell was a member of Drive-By Truckers from 2001 and 2007, and also appears on 2004’s The Dirty South and 2006’s A Blessing and a Curse. (He’s simply listed as a guest on Decoration Day.) Before leaving, he contributed two songs that eventually made 2009’s The Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities and Rarities. Isbell’s April 2007 departure was called “amicable” back then, and he went right into building his solo career as Spooner Oldham joined the band just weeks later.
While Isbell and the Truckers have shared the stage on a few occasions over the years, their performance on Colbert was billed as their first announced performance together in nearly 20 years.
The reunion comes after Isbell spent much of 2025 supporting Foxes in the Snow, his debut solo acoustic album. In 2026, he and The 400 Unit will reconvene for a US tour; check out those dates out below.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit 2026 US Tour Dates:
01/14 – Durham, NC @ Durham Performing Arts Center +
01/15 – Manassas, VA @ Hylton Performing Arts Center +
01/16 – Charlotte, NC @ Ovens Auditorium +
01/17 – Athens, GA @ The Classic Center +
01/23 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
01/24 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
01/26 – Sacramento, CA @ Channel 24
01/28 – Santa Rosa, CA @ Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
01/29 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
01/30 – Temecula, CA @ Pechanga Theater
01/31 – Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum Theatre
02/18 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia Presented by Highmark
02/20 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall +%
02/21 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall @
02/22 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
02/24 – Cleveland, OH @ KeyBank State Theatre at Playhouse Square
02/25 – Columbus, OH @ Palace Theatre
02/27 – Boston, MA @ Boch Center Wang Theatre
02/28 – Boston, MA @ Boch Center Wang Theatre
03/01 – Niagara Falls, ON @ OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino
03/02 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Benedum Center
03/04 – Iowa City, IA @ Hancher Auditorium
03/05 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Armory
03/06 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed
03/07 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed
03/13-20 – Miami, FL @ Cayamo Cruise
03/25 – Bowling Green, KY @ SkyPAC (Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center) +
03/26 – Little Rock, AR @ Robinson Center +
03/27 – Memphis, TN @ Orpheum Theatre +
03/28 – Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Theatre at Old National Centre +
04/24 – Miramar Beach, FL @ Sun, Sand, and Soul ^
04/26 – Orlando, FL @ Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
04/29 – St. Louis, MO @ The Fabulous Fox Theatre
05/01 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
05/02 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre *
05/03 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
05/20 – Dallas, TX @ Winspear Opera House – AT&T PAC +
05/21 – Dallas, TX @ Winspear Opera House – AT&T PAC +
05/22 – Austin, TX @ Long Center for the Performing Arts +
05/23 – San Antonio, TX @ Majestic Theatre +
07/16 – Richmond, KY @ EKU Center for the Arts +
07/17 – Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theatre +
07/18 – Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theatre +
07/19 – Brevard, NC @ Brevard Music Center +
07/23 – Grand Rapids, MI @ TBA
07/24 – Interlochen, MI @ TBA
07/25 – Huber Heights, OH @ Rose Music Center at The Heights
07/26 – Charlottesville, VA @ Ting Pavilion
07/28 – Lenox, MA @ Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood ~
07/30 – Washington, DC @ Wolf Trap ~
+ = Jason Isbell Solo
* = w/ Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
~ = w/ Patty Griffin
% = w/ Shelby Lynne
@ = w/ Alejandro Escovedo
^ = w/ Tedeschi Trucks Band, Drive-By Truckers, and Elles Bailey