Jason Isbell Breaks Through CMA Barrier for an Independent Artist w/ Album of the Year Nom
Another glass ceiling has just been shattered in mainstream country music’s monopoly on the independent side of music. Jason Isbell—the former member of the Drive-By Truckers and a well-decorated songwriter from Alabama who’s been setting the pace for sales and accolades in independent roots music—has just been nominated for Album of the Year by the Country Music Association, or CMA’s, for his most recent album The Nashville Sound. This is a virtually unprecedented feat for an independent artist. The album was produced by Dave Cobb, and was recorded with his backing band, The 400 Unit.
Already a recipient of multiple Grammy Awards in Americana, as well as two #1 album accolades for sales, Isbell now sticks his foot through the mother of all doors holding back independent artists, that being Music Row’s well-ordered awards system that very rarely pays attention to the accomplishments of independent music. Isbell is a signee to the independent record distribution company Thirty Tigers, which allows artists to own their own record labels, and keep control of their masters.
For the last few years as independent music continues to gain in market share, we’ve been waiting to see if mainstream awards like the CMA and the ACM’s would take notice. Perhaps Sturgill Simpson, who is the current owner of the Grammy for Album of the Year, was a little too hot to handle for the industry. But Isbell’s nearly universal acceptance as a critical favorite, as well as a serious commercial force (he just sold out six consecutive nights at the Ryman) has made mainstream Nashville incapable of ignoring his accomplishments anymore.
Whether Jason Isbell wins or not, the designation is significant. As we’ve seen over the last couple of years with Chris Stapleton walking away with both CMA and ACM Awards, when these more critically-favored artists receive nominations, it’s not out of the question the industry will vote their conscience, and they could win.
Jason Isbell should be considered a serious contender for the award. It also opens the possibility of other independent artists receiving nominations in the future. Now that the levee has finally been breached, who knows who could be nominated in the coming years. In the modern era, the only other time we have seen an truly independent artist nominated for a CMA is when Brandy Clark was nominated for New Artist of the Year in 2014 before she signed to Warner Bros. Records.
The Album of the Year nominations are as follows:
The Breaker – Little Big Town; Producer(s): Jay Joyce
From A Room: Volume 1 – Chris Stapleton; Producer(s): Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
Heart Break-Lady Antebellum; Producer(s): busbee
The Nashville Sound – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit; Producer(s): Dave Cobb
The Weight of These Wings – Miranda Lambert; Producer(s): Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf, Eric Masse
With Miranda Lambert receiving consideration for The Weight of These Wings, and Chris Stapleton for From A Room: Vol. 1, it gives multiple album for people who care about quality music to root for. Jason Isbell is also gearing up for the Americana Music Awards in Nashville on Wednesday, September 13th, where he’s been know to collect quite a bit of hardware over the years.
The CMA Awards are on November 8th on ABC.
READ: Full 2017 CMA Nominations & Saving Country Music’s Predictions
September 4, 2017 @ 8:10 am
WOW, this is awesome
September 4, 2017 @ 8:14 am
Unbelievable
Some thoughts ….
This is bigger than Sturgill’s Grammy nominations/ win because it was tougher barrier to break. Don’t forget, this album has an anti-trump stigma attached to it and it just got nominated by the narrowest minded of the industry pinheads.
Can we start throwing dirt of country radio? Three of the nominated albums – Isbell, Stapleton, (and the winner) Lambert – received little to no radio plays. Amazing.
Will he perform? And does this make the album a shoe-in for Grammy’s – the album to beat?
It’s crazy how openminded, receptive the CMAs are compared to the ACMs. Last springs’ ACMs were a terrible radio orgy of pop/bro/rap/80’s “country.” I thought all hope was lost. All I’ve ever asked was for a seat at the table – we got a few.
Hey…Reba got nominated for Female Vocalist!
September 4, 2017 @ 8:29 am
I do think this is bigger than Sturgill’s Grammy nomination and award in country, though maybe not the all-genre Album of the Year nomination, which was massive. The Grammy Awards have always considered more critically-received projects, if not favored them over the years. Not to take away from those accomplishments, but the CMA’s are where the bulkhead has persisted over the last few years against independent music. Not even Sturgill could have accomplished this, because he’s on a major label now. I didn’t expect this at all. At all. And it also opens up the possibility that Isbell will be considered greater for the Grammy Awards in 2018. Perhaps he’ll get an Album of the Year nomination from the Grammys himself.
I wouldn’t guarantee that Jason Isbell will perform, but it does guarantee he will be in the building. They could try to give him one of those 30 to 60 second spots going into commercial break, and he might decline. That’s what Kacey Musgraves did a couple of years ago. We’ll just have to see.
September 4, 2017 @ 10:43 am
He won’t be at the awards because he is playing shows in Europe. I don’t see the CMAs giving it to him knowing he won’t even show up.
September 4, 2017 @ 11:04 am
This is going to make it difficult for Isbell, but I wouldn’t write off him being there in person just yet. This is the age of the jumbo jet, and he could probably shift one show and be fine. My guess is folks are scrambling at the moment to try and figure out that very thing. I’ll wait to hear something official before proclaiming he won’t be there. Besides, that hasn’t stopped artists from winning before. When John Denver won in 1975, he accepted via satellite.
Definitely a factor though.
September 4, 2017 @ 2:07 pm
Garth also received entertainer of the year via satellite from buffalo.
September 4, 2017 @ 4:17 pm
If he gets a full performance slot, he’ll be there. Remember those who thought Sturgill would skip the Grammy’s? It’s too big of a stage. He’ll do it for his wife!
George Strait skipped the 90s and still won a ton of CMAs.
September 4, 2017 @ 5:19 pm
Remember all the snarky comments about the CMAs and mainstream country in the past? He didn’t play at CMA fest because “he didn’t want to” burn, etc. It would be quite a pivot for him to justify.
September 4, 2017 @ 8:19 am
Trig,
How much do you think Cobb’s influence with previous work from Stapleton getting nods had to do with this nod?
September 4, 2017 @ 8:32 am
Good point. I think that probably did factor into it. These awards are very much a name recognition game. People in the industry see Isbell’s name at the top of the album charts, see that he’s selling out the Ryman six nights in a row, see his producer is the hottest thing right now in music and say, “Man, why not this guy?” as they’re mind is searching through all the shitty records Music Row is schlepping out these days and trying to think of who to nominate.
September 4, 2017 @ 8:21 am
This is great for them and all independent artists. In my opinion he has the best album on the list by far (not that I listened to lady antebellum) but he deserves to win this. I wonder if he even cares. May boost album sales!!
September 4, 2017 @ 8:39 am
I have a friend who used to work for the CMA, she said that for the most part the a lot of members tend to value songwriting by the artist more than any other criteria – especially for album and song of the year. Explains why “Tin Man” got nominated, why Stapleton, Miranda, and Isbell got noms for album of the year. Is the system perfect? Hell no. I’d love to have seen Sturgill nominated or Willie for God’s Problem Child. But I’m happy that these artists are at least getting some recognition from the mainstream powers that be.
September 4, 2017 @ 10:29 am
Of course we all would love to see a different set of nominees than the ones that received them. But what Jason Isbell’s nomination does is open the possibility that ANY independent release COULD be nominated in the future. Previously, this was thought to be impossible. I knew the nominations were coming up this morning, knew Miranda Lambert would probably have a big day, and knew who else would probably be nominated. The CMA’s are pretty predictable. But I NEVER expected this. I felt maybe Isbell’s name would come up when the nominees were culled down to the Top 50 or so, but this is shocking.
September 4, 2017 @ 8:59 am
holy shit. YES!!!
September 4, 2017 @ 9:23 am
Little Big Town & Lady Antebellum for album of the year? Is this a joke?
September 4, 2017 @ 9:35 am
Yep, LBT’s album is a sleepy adult contemporary production, with every bit of character and charm removed through the slick production. Yet, an AOTY nomination? That’s laughable. These Nashville oligarchs love LBT, since they seem to be omnipresent at every country award show, every year without fail.
September 4, 2017 @ 9:57 am
I’ll be the first to admit I’m a fan of Little Big Town. In fact, I’m going to their concert next month but this most recent album is by far the worst of their entire career (if we’re ignoring the weird pop/disco one they released last year that everyone is trying to forget). There are a couple of country tracks that I quite enjoy but the rest of the record isn’t good enough to warrant an AOTY nomination.
September 4, 2017 @ 10:02 am
I’m a fan too, or at least a moderate fan, and I’ve probably defended LBT in the comments here at SCM. But, like you, I was very disappointed with this most recent album.
September 4, 2017 @ 10:31 am
Little Big Town has been the Belle of the Country Awards Ball for going on three years now. I don’t know how this happened or why, but if it wasn’t for them dropping a “Motorboatin'” reference in a song a few years back, they might be playing residencies at The Nashville Palace right now. There’s worse for sure, but I remain dumbfounded by their continued success.
September 4, 2017 @ 9:39 am
I usually don’t care about these awards, but this was fun. Finally one of my favorites among “modern country”/Americana gets nominated…Maybe I should start caring…. 🙂
Watched this two days ago: http://www.npr.org/event/music/545844291/jason-isbell-tiny-desk-concert Now I have to watch it again… 🙂
September 4, 2017 @ 9:52 am
Oh, yay! Good for him. 🙂
September 4, 2017 @ 9:55 am
While I think this is a very good sign and very well deserved, I am still a little stink-eyed when it comes to the term “independent artist” because Thirty Tigers is heavily tied into “Leadership Music” as is the CMA and all the other major labels. This is the Nashville platform in which all the back scratching goes on. I think Jason deserves this x 10, so its up and up, but I still don’t think we’ll see someone on a truly independent label getting a shot at real recognition without being “plugged in” .
September 4, 2017 @ 10:50 am
Hey Connie,
I understand what you’re getting at, but Leadership Music is more of just an educational apparatus as opposed to a trade organization or umbrella entity like the CMAs or even the Americana Music Association, which are the things that allow for collusion or something similar to occur that hypothetically Jason Isbell could benefit from. I have my own thoughts about Leadership Music (and was asked to speak at it earlier this year), but one of the things I think is cool about it is they don’t restrict independent labels, management companies, and booking agencies from participating, which I actually think is bettering the opportunities for independent music.
Ultimately, Jason Isbell owns his own music, and Thirty Tigers is only taking 10% his take.Isbell can’t be found on corporate radio, or at the CMA Fan Fest, or on major mainstream tours. This is what makes him decidedly independent.
If you want to give hell to Thirty Tigers, do it for being behind Chase Rice early in his career, and other such artists. If they see a big pile of money, they’re going to nab it just like anyone in Nashville, and don’t discriminate against artists because they have mainstream sound. But Thirty Tigers has opened the possibility for artists to be able to find success without selling their soul and music to Music Row, and I think Isbell’s nomination really speaks to their success in doing this.
This is huge for Isbell, Thirty Tigers, and Isbell’s manager Traci Thomas, who probably deserves a lumpsided amount of credit for this. Let’s hope they all keep their heads and their fierce, independent streak despite the mainstream acceptance. I think they will.
September 4, 2017 @ 11:37 am
Great answer, man. And I agree with Traci Thomas. I know a little more about LM than most, and it does have a lot of backscratching going on (and moneylending/favorrepaying) but that being said, yes this is a huge win and overall for all parties. Traci deserves a boat load of credit for her persistince and belief in young, upcoming artists.
September 4, 2017 @ 12:09 pm
That’s actually kind of a crock. Thirty Tigers pumps out volumes of music, more than an album a week, and they get a record to release date and dump it for the next one. If you’re churning out 60+ albums a year, you’re bound to have a couple winners. Think about that…in the last 10 years that’s easily over 600 records and we jump up and down singing their praises because they put out a couple we like? Any other “label” business would go under. They take their skim off the top. Always get paid. But it’s really the teams behind the artists that do the heavy lifting to make their successes even though Thirty Tigers loves to claim the success and play the altruistic “aw shucks” business. And you don’t think they are part of the system? Look at Triple Tigers joint venture…putting out crap like Russell Dickerson and Scotty McCreary. Loaded with a bunch of has been and no name Music Row type. Thirty Tigers is simply a volume money machine that gets lucky from time to time.
September 4, 2017 @ 1:15 pm
I think Thirty Tigers would be the first to tell you they’re a volume business, have some hits and misses, and that they rely on the teams of artists for success. I’m not really sure what your criticism is here. That’s their business model, and it seems to be working. Some artists are not made to sell 50,000 records out of the chute and be nominated for CMA Awards. For some artists, success is selling 5,000 copies, and that’s okay. But Thirty Tigers was the only one that took a chance on Sturgill Simpson. They were responsible for the first #1 independent country album from a solo artist via Aaron Watson. Have you seen what Cody Jinks has been doing recently, with little to no fanfare in the mainstream? Now they’ve scored big with Isbell, again. They put their names behind these guys when nobody else would, or could. Not sure where the friction is coming from over Thirty Tigers. Like I said in my comment above, Traci Thomas probably deserves the tiger’s share (bad pun) of the credit here, but guess what, she works for the Thirty Tigers management division.
I acknowledge(d) that Thirty Tigers has also put their name behind some pure dreck because they thought they could make a buck. But hey, Scotty McCreery’s got a great voice. I’ve said in the past I would love to see what that kid can do when Music Row gets their tentacles off of him. Certainly Thirty Tigers has rubbed elbows with parts of the mainstream business, but if that results in the mainstream getting better, and the independent realm being more successful, more power to them. Pragmatism is how country music will be saved, not sitting back with these hardline stances about what is “country” or “independent” and refusing to bend because it’s not the perfect scenario.
We should be happy for Jason Isbell today. This is a big victory. Disregard the name on the back of the album if you need, but let’s all cheer for the name on the front.
September 4, 2017 @ 2:24 pm
Another good answer, Trigger. Let’s celebrate the name on the front!
September 4, 2017 @ 2:13 pm
Is he with William Morris with booking? That would probably be the biggest factor if he is.
I didn’t know it was a 10% royalty. I think that’s darn good and high. Putting into perspective for a mainstream artist it’s about $9.22 for every thousand dollars so less than 1%. Garth paid for his own albums and received a 16% royalty.
September 5, 2017 @ 4:42 pm
Don’t songs pay a 9 cent royalty to the writer? So Isbell would make 10% from music sales PLUS 9 cents for the songs he writes (minus co-writers).
I don’t know much about music contracts. 10% seems decent to me but I have no idea. Is 1% really the norm?
September 5, 2017 @ 4:48 pm
Each contract is different, but Thirty Tigers only asks (on average) 10% FROM the artist, not vice versa. This is by far the lowest percentage in the music business. However like other commenters have said, Thirty Tigers also doesn’t do a ton of leg work like other labels, though sometimes they do, like if an artist is in development. But sometimes they rely on managers, publicists, and the artists to help push the music and do certain tasks that traditionally a record label would do. That’s why they don’t call themselves a label. They’re more a facilitator and distributor.
September 5, 2017 @ 5:08 pm
Not sure the exact number on the writer. From articles I’ve read streaming is 76 to labels, 17 to artists, and 7 to writers.
When it comes to most artists now it’s a 360 deal. They get a signing bonus to join the label perhaps $50,000-100,000. Then all costs and everything else is taken into account. It’s two to three million to break a new artist. With cost of radio tours, radio promotion being the biggest, bus, merchandise, and cd/so costs. Why many don’t make a lot of money or any money at all. Other than signing bonus which doesn’t have to be paid back. until the artist has all of that paid back the costs they get barely anything else if any at all.
September 4, 2017 @ 10:06 am
Can he please get a performance slot and perform White Man’s World?
September 4, 2017 @ 10:57 am
As much as I love Isbell, I hope he doesn’t decide to perform “White Man’s World.” Not because I hate it or am against the message necessarily, but because if he does perform, I hope it’s a moment of unity, and a moment all independent country fans can enjoy. I think this notion that people need to be insulted and shocked into changing their mindsets is misguided. All that does is codify narrow points of view, and I’m already seeing this on Facebook from Isbell’s nomination. Subtly is the best way to break down barriers in perspective, and this is something Isbell has proven with his music previous in his career, and does at times on “The Nashville Sound.”
If Isbell performs, he should perform a song that he thinks the audience will like universally. And then perhaps that will compel them to gravitate towards his music, and ultimately expose them to a perspective that is different from their own.
September 4, 2017 @ 11:15 am
Isbell is a token nomination IMO. I don’t see a future for him at the commercial country awards. He is a politcal artist so I dont have any problem with him using his platform, if given one, to express himself.
If people don’t like hearing White Man’s World at the CMAs they’re not going to like hearing it on the album and they’re certainly not going to like seeing him live. He doesn’t shy away from his beliefs.
September 4, 2017 @ 3:09 pm
Let’s also hope he doesn’t do “anxiety”. That song is atrocious.
September 5, 2017 @ 8:53 am
WhIle I agree that his basic concept with the song has truth to it, in particular the line about walking on the bones of the red man, I confess that I don’t particularly find the song to be unifying in any positive way.It promotes the idea of racial shame and guilt. That’s not a healthy concept. No one should be ashamed of their skin color, ethnic origin or country where they originated. People are all equal in the eyes of God. ( New Testament, see the writings of Peter)
Is the US guilty of majorly shameful treatment to people of various ethnic persuasions? You betcha. No argument there. ..but I had nothing to do with it, as my father and his father didn’t either. All I can do is recognize those truths and make good choices in my own life about how I treat my fellowman. No guilt neccesary. I wonder if Isbell is a real student of history? If he is then he would be aware of the awful tendency of people in every country snd culture to dominate others based on the ideas of racial, cultural and geographical superiority. Examine the Middle East as case in point. Then look at Russia and it’s terrible history of barbarism to native peoples. Ever read about the Russian slaughter of natives in Alaska? Don’t stop there by any means, look at the tribal and ethnic attempts at genocide in Rwanda, Liberia and other African countries.
Also study carefully the Aztec cultures in South America. Oh and be sure to read up on Egyptian history and practice of slavery. Then too, look at the histories of Spain and the Conquistadors and the rampant slaughter of innocent life all over the place. And while your at it don’t neglect studying the Assyrian empire , among the most barbaric to ever walk the planet. Then there were the Vikings, the Greeks, the Mongols and on and on and on and on.
My point being that attempting to isolate, guilt and shame one race or group of people as being the cause of all problems is narrow minded, bigoted and hateful. It just won’t bring about anything constructive or positive. Here in the US we have come an awful long way in overcoming these issues in comparison to other places on the globe. I prefer to focus on constructive as an alternative to destructive , divisive ideas. No thanks to mainstream media which has to inflame tensions by focusing on negatives.
I work around people of many cultures and backgrounds in everyday life who treat each other with dignity and respect. The America being painted by media today is a gross exaggeration. I could tell many observations and stories from my own life and what I see of positive interactions among people of different races, but it would take volumes. The everyday people I see are not filled with the hatred that the media and political figures claim. To sum up, Isbell is a great songwriter and great performer. I don’t particularly see that song though as affecting any great change.
September 5, 2017 @ 12:47 pm
I don’t think the song is trying to unify people. As for the US coming a long way, Trump gloating about ending DACA today pretry much tells you that you’re wrong.
September 5, 2017 @ 1:48 pm
Thanks for the reply! Appreciate your meaningful feedback! You and I look at things from a differing perspective it seems. I am not so interested in the Micro vantage point as I am in the Macro. Thats where a careful and methodic study of history comes in. You really should take a deep look at some of these past cultures and histories including the various governmental structures that have been tried. Look at the good and bad and the failures of them and ask yourself why, what made it a failure, what made one better than the other and what was bad about all of them. Look at the human element too. Look for the similarities. What lessons can be learned? What can we as a culture can learn? Then evaluate todays political narrative in light of these historical observations and really challenge it by asking what is the end game? What is the end goal? What is the current, flavor du jour utopia that so many folks imagine their going to find going to find? You may find some startlingly eerie conclusions about the direction things are headed. Personally, I am not filled with hopeless despair and anger like so many misguided, mislead folks are. My answers come from a higher power. It takes time to get there, like anybody I get incensed by day to day happenings, but I always bring myself back and look at that larger field point of view and I am fine. For Triggers sake, I won’t prattle on any theological viewpoints here and wreck his excellent site with endless, pointless debates. What I will say is that if you read my entire post carefully, you would see that human beings and lives are important to me and I don’t see any President as a savior or real fix for things.but that is a topic for another forum. Meanwhile…love that country music! I know we can agree on that!
September 4, 2017 @ 10:07 am
Finally, a category worth watching. I’ve got the only 3 worth owning here. Would love to see a performance come from the nomination since most shows are full of ripped jeans, tailgates and beer drinking bimbo songs. :/
Guess they were asleep for Southeastern and Something More Than Free. 😛
Can they just split this between Jason and Miranda? Both have been on steady reply in my house since release. Well, about half of Ran’s, that is.
September 4, 2017 @ 10:34 am
Saving Country Music I might of had a respectful disagreement of opinion when Chris Young was tapped into the Inner Circle for the Opry, but with that said I am so pumped they Isbell got the nomination for Album of the Year. The state associations are following through. This is so big and imo a little more special than Stapleton’s 2015 CMAs for the pure reason Isabell is very much considered outside of the Music Row Boys club. Congrats Jason Isbell and his 400 unit, well deserved.
September 4, 2017 @ 10:34 am
Isbell. My iPhone on crack
September 4, 2017 @ 10:41 am
He won’t be at the awards because he is playing shows in Europe. I don’t see the CMAs giving it to him knowing he won’t even show up.
September 4, 2017 @ 10:57 am
I’d love to see him perform either Vampires or Molotov. I really hope he performs. Hey, I own 3 of the five nominees for album. Wanna guess which 3?
September 4, 2017 @ 11:09 am
I’d love to see him perform, it’d be a reason to actually tune into the show…I know it’s a tough call with the show in Germany…but sometimes you’re handed an opportunity and have to make an audible on your plans. I think for Jason, this is one of those times. Also I hope if he does perform, whatever song he chooses, has a nice solo for Amanda.
September 4, 2017 @ 12:05 pm
It’s a CYA move by the CMA. They’re using Isbell’s name/music so they can start churning out Midland-esque acts.
September 4, 2017 @ 12:20 pm
I would tend to agree with you there. I know it’s big, but I do think it’s kind of a gesture. It definitely opens doors, but Sturgill’s Grammy nomination into main category was still a lot bigger.
September 4, 2017 @ 12:52 pm
Maybe it is. But the last time they did that with Chris Stapleton, he swept all of the awards, and now he’s a bona fide superstar.
September 4, 2017 @ 1:02 pm
Yeah, but he’s Chris. Jason is never going to have that appeal.
September 4, 2017 @ 1:57 pm
Amen!
September 4, 2017 @ 8:07 pm
…is that supposed to be a bad thing, haha?
“Oh no! Radio is going to be filled with solid country music made by artists that some perceive as inauthentic!”
September 5, 2017 @ 7:19 am
Lester,
The Nashville music business consists of nothing but favors. Hell, the CMA voting process is nothing but vote bartering between the record labels. Stapleton came up through “the system,” Isbell didn’t.
I think it’s safe to say that with Isbell’s current album, he won’t be played on mainstream country radio because corporate radio doesn’t want to offend and ultimately run off listeners.
September 5, 2017 @ 7:59 am
Not disputing that, haha.
Just saying that there are far, far worse things than Nashville’s deciding to “start churning out Midland-esque acts,” relative to the other options on country radio.
September 5, 2017 @ 8:04 am
Isbell is about as country as your favorite, Swifty.
September 5, 2017 @ 8:18 am
Ooooooh, how edgy!
Your ideas are intriguing to me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
September 5, 2017 @ 10:21 am
You consider TayTay to be a great songwriter. I chuckle every time I see one of your posts. How can any non-preteen female take you seriously?
September 5, 2017 @ 1:10 pm
You’d be surprised at how many people understand how good you have to be at the craft of writing songs to capture an audience as intensely as Swift has.
There’s a reason that Trig gave 4 songs on Red “2 Guns Up,” and Red itself 1 3/4 Guns Up as a pop album.
An excerpt from the review:
“Red is really the tale of two albums: A gorgeous evocation of human emotions set to enchanting music and delivered in elevated modes, and awful pop shit that leaves you almost embarrassed for Taylor from the sheer obviousness of the ploy.”
So…yeah. I totally understand where you’re coming from. Women can be scary.
That’s why the “DURLS AH GWOSS” crowd tends to be a lot louder.
But plenty of people whom I “take seriously” understand that Swift is very good at writing the songs she writes, and that her success is by no means a fluke.
September 10, 2017 @ 7:33 am
I agree. I like alot of his music, but very little of it sounds country to me.
September 4, 2017 @ 12:20 pm
In the main category
September 4, 2017 @ 4:20 pm
He occupies no space in mainstream country music or country radio. He literally just gave an interview how he considers himself a Americana artist, not a country artist. I will be disappointed in him if he starts campaigning and showing up to perform after years of bashing the mainstream industry.
He is not comparable to what happened with Stapleton who always identified as country.
September 4, 2017 @ 8:17 pm
Jason Isbell is not Sturgill Simpson. There are picture floating around out there of Isbell hanging out with Florida Georgia Line. Sure he’s been critical of bad music, but he’s far from a basher.
September 5, 2017 @ 8:23 am
The only pissing match with a mainstream country guy I can remember is when he accused Dierks of ripping off the tune to Razor Town a few years ago.
September 5, 2017 @ 10:35 am
Yeah, and according to some accounts, that’s what inspired Isbell to get sober and clean up.
September 5, 2017 @ 12:51 pm
If only everyone viewed sending out unhinged tweets in the wee hours of the morning as a sign they need help…
September 4, 2017 @ 4:35 pm
Ahh! This is awesome!
Quick question about the use of the term “glass ceiling.” Something startled me about that wording, I guess because it is usually used in reference to barriers affecting women/minorities — i.e., invisible societal BS keeping people doing the same work from getting the same reward. What is so awesome about Isbell is that he’s doing *different* work, and maybe helping to change the narrative/direction of country music as a whole.
Not a criticism by any means, just something that caught my attention, and I’d be curious for your thoughts.
Longtime fan of the site, thanks for all your hard work!
September 4, 2017 @ 5:01 pm
Independent artists in the mainstream of country are very much dealt with as a lower class of musicians who don’t deserve such accolades like Album of the Year. That’s why the term was used.
September 4, 2017 @ 5:05 pm
Do you think the CMA is using us old farts for ratings?
September 4, 2017 @ 8:15 pm
Jason Isbell does nothing for ratings. The CMA’s nominating that song Taylor Swift wrote for Little Big Town, and even putting a graphic out there with Taylor’s picture, THAT’s the rating’s grab. Jason Isbell is a ratings drag.
September 4, 2017 @ 6:46 pm
Still don’t get the appeal with Isbell. That’s just me though
September 4, 2017 @ 7:25 pm
It’s not just you. Truthfully, I could take or leave him and Stapleton. And I’m not just some redneck who thinks they aren’t classic country enough. I am sitting here listiening to 36 Chambers on vinyl for gods sake!
September 4, 2017 @ 9:54 pm
It’s definitely not just you. Chris and Sturgill are amazing. Jason, I’ve had to work to appreciate, not really enjoy, but appreciate.
September 4, 2017 @ 7:22 pm
There really is no comparison between Sturgill’s Grammy and this, mainly because it is unfair to Isbell to even put his album up against ASGTE. Isbells album has maybe 4 good songs. ASGTE is a groundbreaking blend of country and whatever else you want to call it (“non country” for many of you hippies : ). Isabell is way overrated. Anxiety and the other foo fighters / goo goo dolls sounding songs on his latest album are quite embarrassing. And yes I have had a few beers. But I am glad that he was thrown into the mix at the awards.
September 4, 2017 @ 9:56 pm
I agree with everything you said. I’ve also had some wine, but Jason has always been really blah to me. Just my opinion.
September 4, 2017 @ 10:29 pm
Daaaammmnnn. GINAAAA!!!!
September 5, 2017 @ 3:38 am
I respect you disclosing the beers….. lol
Not to fall in the trap here, but it is interesting everyone jumps on that album for “not being country” when Isbell isn’t either (by the standard definition around here). I think both albums are badass though
September 4, 2017 @ 11:05 pm
Fuck the CMA. Too little too late.
September 5, 2017 @ 7:27 am
Listening, it sounds like Mr. Isbell might’ve been played and accidently drank some city snake oil with this, and his past album’s, casual alternative sound. It’s getting him out into the world. A country music award nomination for that alone should be given. Country folks paying attention to their own? If McCaskill is right who are the others? Ladeedahdeedahdeedah, country life is wonderful.
September 5, 2017 @ 9:08 am
I am so damn excited about these nominations. For some insane reason I was slow to connect with Isbell’s music. The Nashville Sound hooked me, though, and now I’m pretty much drowning in Koolaid over the dude. I think I may know every song on every album word for word.
I’ve enjoyed reading all these predictions/perspectives, especially from so many of you who are clearly in the in the industry or just generally in the know.
I swear, following this whole crap “country” music vs. real country/Americana has become my favorite sport – and this blog is like ESPN for me! :)) Keep up the great work, Trigger! Thanks!
September 5, 2017 @ 8:51 pm
Isbell is hands down my favorite artist, and has been since the release of Southeastern. John Mayer said he is the best songwriter of his generation. Not bad coming from a guy who can write a pretty darn good song himself. I consider him the second best songwriter of my lifetime, behind Springsteen. A well deserved nomination.
September 6, 2017 @ 12:55 pm
Hey Trigger, you said the industry may vote their “concise”. Conscience?