On Jason Isbell Cancelling Numerous Shows with No Explanation
Performers most certainly deserve the grace to be able to cancel or postpone appearances due to whatever might arise that makes it difficult, impossible, or even dangerous to fulfill those performances. The era of giving a bump of white powder to a performer to have them power through whatever personal issues they might be having, or breaking their necks to navigate logistical nightmares are over, and for good reasons. But calling off shows last minute is increasingly becoming it’s own dilemma, and one that is eroding trust between artists and consumers.
On Tuesday night (7-28), Megan Moroney had to end her show after only a few songs due to illness. She clearly tried to power through the performance before profusely apologizing to the audience from the stage and promising to make it up to them in the future, which she certainly will once the show can be rescheduled.
Jason Isbell postponed a show last minute at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts on Tuesday night as well, but with no explanation beyond “unforeseen circumstances.” No notifications were given by Jason Isbell publicly on social media, nor the venue, with many ticket holders being left in the lurch. The show was rescheduled for September 4th where tickets will be honored, but this doesn’t always make up for the inconvenience of the last minute move.
Jason Isbell has also cancelled his show Friday, July 31 at ParkStage in Freehold, New Jersey, with no makeup date, as well as postponed an appearance at the Berglund Performing Arts Theatre in Roanoke, Virginia where he was originally scheduled for Saturday, August 1st. The show will now happen on August 19th.
Kacey Musgraves earlier this week cancelled numerous stops on her “Middle of Nowhere” tour, including the opening night with no explanation, not even the stock “unforeseen circumstances” excuse. Clearly those cancellations were due to low ticket sales for those particular dates that had been added onto the tour after the original dates in those markets sold through well. It’s unlikely Jason Isbell is trying to cover up low ticket sales since two of the three cancelled performances have been rescheduled.
Some of these last minute cancellations from performers with no explanations are not necessarily a symptom of the supposed “Blue Dot Fever” that has plagued music in the summer of 2026. But it certainly could be one of the causes. Ever since the pandemic, cancelling shows and on short notice has become so commonplace, many consumers are reluctant to pull the trigger on tickets until the last minute, not knowing if the show will actually happen, or their ticket money will be tied up in limbo.
Hopefully everything is okay with Jason Isbell, and especially if it isn’t, he deserves our understanding and grace. But it also feels like consumers deserve more leeway and explanation if performers expect that courtesy to be reciprocated in the future, especially as ticket prices continue to rise, as do the amount of last minute cancellations and postponements.
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July 29, 2026 @ 11:38 am
Aren’t artists from his bailiwick supposed to be all concerned about the little people, the poor and downtrodden that spend their last few bucks on a concert? Shouldn’t the forgotten of society at least receive an explanation?
July 29, 2026 @ 11:47 am
Actually, shouldn’t all people, no matter their “bailiwick,” be concerned about the little people, the poor and downtrodden?
Or are you one of those who spends their nights agonizing over how Elon and those of his “bailiwick” are going to survive?
Beyond that, some sort of explanation is, I believe, warranted and necessary.
July 29, 2026 @ 1:48 pm
wayne, you certainly are a little person.
July 29, 2026 @ 2:04 pm
Just to offer some hypotheticals, if his kid was hit by a car and he went to be with them in the hospital, does he owe you an explanation and a copy of the x-rays? Or if he caught the explosive diarrhea bug, does he owe you video proof? If his grandmother is dying and he wants to be by her side? Artists are allowed a private life, and it’s up to them which parts they want to keep private. It sucks, and whatever the explanation, it probably sucks for him as well. So, like Trigger mentioned in the very first sentence, let’s give him the grace of assuming that he has a reason and he doesn’t want to share it right now.
July 29, 2026 @ 2:48 pm
No, he can share something extremely vague. At least it’s something.
July 29, 2026 @ 4:34 pm
I think they should put out a reason – but I don’t think it really changes anything for fans, does it?
Like, the people who (fairly or not) are complaining about this are not gonna be like “well, I’m pissed off, but see Isbell canceled because he was sick so it’s cool”. You are gonna have just as many folks chime in on social media that if that was the case, Isbell is a wuss and they go to work (walking uphill both ways) when they are sick and blah, blah, blah.
Radio silence isn’t my first choice on how to handle this, but putting out a statement isn’t gonna change that guy trying to act tough on Twitter that he shouldn’t do that.
July 30, 2026 @ 6:39 am
No, that’s not how it goes. An artist I love had to cancel a huge show recently and it was due to health reasons (which they were open about and offered a lengthy apology to the fans) and immediately people followed with sympathy and gratefulness for an explanation. Of course people were bummed, but not offering anything is simply unprofessional and shows very little regard for fans.
July 30, 2026 @ 6:35 am
Almost all artists offer…something to their fans when they have to cancel shows. It could be vague with an apology included. It’s really the bare minimum – and requires a very low bar of standards.
July 30, 2026 @ 9:41 am
I remember when Turnpike had its issues. Their radio silence, while booking new shows, was unprofessional. Offer a vague statement but offer something.
July 29, 2026 @ 7:20 pm
For Isbell, the forgotten people are only good for songs. He actually doesn’t believe they are equal with him.
July 30, 2026 @ 4:22 am
A-fucking-MEN
July 30, 2026 @ 12:33 pm
@CountryKnight At least, unlike those like you who don’t believe anyone is equal with them, there is apparently someone he believes are his equal.
July 30, 2026 @ 2:20 pm
Yeah, his reflection in the mirror.
July 30, 2026 @ 5:31 pm
Right – if he cared about them at all, he’d…fight for millionaires to pay less taxes, while telling them that the only way to REALLY love America is to pay higher gas and electric prices, while their taxes arm convicted felons to murder Americans!
July 29, 2026 @ 11:58 am
I intentionally don’t buy tix for shows further than 20 miles away, so sudden cancellations don’t effect me like people who fly or drive long distances. Sooner or later, everyone plays Joe’s Bar on Weed Street.* 😊
*today they just announced a mid-Nov $20 show for Carter Faith!
July 29, 2026 @ 12:01 pm
With the announcement of a new double album from Ian Noe , youd think there wouldnt be the time for the traditional lets find something to slag Jason Isbell off thread on here .
July 29, 2026 @ 12:56 pm
Maybe there’s time to cover both stories, and maybe it’s more advantageous to cover one of them in the evening when I normally cover album and tour announcements because they get significantly more traction then.
I definitely don’t think I’m “slagging” Jason Isbell here. I don’t think it’s unfair for fans to ask for an explanation.
August 4, 2026 @ 3:14 am
One of the band members had a death in the family. I don’t know them, but it isn’t hard to imagine a world in which their family wanted privacy.
August 4, 2026 @ 6:51 am
“Due to a personal tragedy, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit have been forced to cancel or postpone the next three shows.”
One of the problems with this issue is folks weren’t even being informed about it. Nobody knew about these cancellations because Isbell didn’t post about them on social media, and emails/notifications from venues either weren’t going out, or weren’t reaching people. That’s where it becomes imperative on the media to help inform the public.
August 6, 2026 @ 3:45 pm
I definitely agree with you. I’m an over communicator. It’s just better to provide information rather than leaving people to speculate, or just stew.
I just posted the above to add to the conversation since it seemed relevant.
I think Jason has done a bad job with publicity and visibility for a bit now; I think he pulled way back from it when the split with Amanda was being discussed so much. I’m not one of those folks that throws the “well your music was about your personal life so your personal life is now fair game” nonsense out there, but I do think that in this case the only right thing to do is to communicate openly and thoroughly when you have to cancel a gig like this. You’re dealing with thousands of dollars from thousands of fans.
July 29, 2026 @ 12:09 pm
I just caught one of his solo shows two weeks ago.
He seemed fine, and the show was pretty packed.
I did notice he appears to be doing some dancing with his schedule this summer, touring between the full band and solo sets, so that could have played into it.
My show was central Kentucky, so he had just driven up from Nashville (~4 hours) with his new girl and a guitar tech.
July 29, 2026 @ 12:51 pm
I’m going to throw out a wild guess and say multiple band members are sick. Hopefully that is all it is and isn’t anything more serious. It would suck if you had planned to travel for any of these shows especially the first show that appears to have been cancelled last minute.
July 29, 2026 @ 12:53 pm
It was pretty disappointing to have the Tanglewood show canceled after we ponied up $$ for a hotel room, not to mention the cost of the tickets. I hope he’s OK, but if it’s blue dot bullshit I’ll be pretty pissed.
July 29, 2026 @ 4:41 pm
There’s definitely no blue dot fever going on with Isbell. He either sells out venues or comes very close. I’m going with multiple band members are sick and they’re being precautionary by canceling through the weekend. Hopefully the 400 unit will be back on stage next week!
July 30, 2026 @ 7:49 am
Yeah, as much as the people on this site seem to hate Jason Isbell, he’s not having any issues pulling crowds these days. There are many reasons why he’d cancel dates, but poor ticket sales almost certainly isn’t one.
July 30, 2026 @ 10:37 am
Roanoke show is half blue dots
Looks like a greedy venue, the regular price on the seats are very high, especially for an area that’s not affluent
July 31, 2026 @ 10:22 am
I suspect some (or a lot) of it is Isbell himself. Having watched him live for over a decade now, I’ve noticed the past few years that, at least when he comes through my area, he’s playing venues that are arguably smaller than his demand and charging an exorbitant amount. “Nosebleed” seats for his most recent concert here were $149, which is insane to me.
July 29, 2026 @ 5:01 pm
Booking a hotel that you can’t cancel, in this day and age? That’s on you
July 29, 2026 @ 5:52 pm
Hard to cancel when you’re already there. The show was cancelled less than 24 hours before it was scheduled.
July 29, 2026 @ 8:59 pm
If it makes anyone feel better. Flew from Florida to Mass for tanglewood show. Last minute cancel without courtesy of even a nondescript explanation was a bummer. Definitely think twice before I fly for another show and considering the expense and hassle of it all….would not do it again to see him for sure. Heard from person who refunded my tickets at venue that it was the second time he had done that there.
July 29, 2026 @ 1:01 pm
He deserves nothing the way the self righteous hypocrite has trashed others that have had the same issues
July 29, 2026 @ 1:52 pm
has he made comments about other artists cancelling shows? because a google search doesn’t yield anything… is it possible you just don’t like him and have JIDS?
July 30, 2026 @ 5:33 pm
Hey now!
I’m pretty sure it’s just called ED.
July 29, 2026 @ 2:06 pm
You know nothing about why he cancelled, but you choose to be a giant asshole. I hope that when life next hands you lemons, you meet someone else just like you.
July 30, 2026 @ 8:00 am
Christ it is laughable how much he gets under the skin of people on here
August 2, 2026 @ 7:58 am
First, let me begin by saying that I’m a big fan of Jason’s music, his history and his struggles, and his success. However, with celebrity (should) comes responsibility, and in the touring industry that loyalty belongs to he/she who brings in the revenue, I.e., the ticket holders. I’ve seen Jason more than 15 times both with DBT, The 400, and solo. I’ve noticed a growing imperiousness on his part- the haughty “no pics no videos” announcements, and, most recently, at an outdoor venue in Charlottesville, it has crossed the line into offensiveness. Case in point: sound check at 4:30 pm, fans who were within earshot but not visual contact of the band were asked to leave the area outside of the ticketed premises “at the artist’s request “. WTF? Not allowed to listen to what’s in public spaces?! And later that night, due to a small passing thunderstorm with lightning, the show had to be canceled about halfway through. Acts of nature occur- we all understand that. But wouldn’t it have been the decent and mature thing for Jason himself, showing respect for his fans, to make a mic’d apology for all of us who paid $385 for a pair of tickets, drove many hours and incurred lodging expenses to see the show and got only half a show? There are a lot of you die-hard fans who’ll criticize my comments, but in the age of performers deriving the bulk of their revenue from live performances, it would be decent and reflective of personal integrity for the performers to respect their audiences to a greater level.
August 2, 2026 @ 10:08 am
The anecdotal story I have to share about Isbell’s restrictive nature is how he sent a copyright takedown to a 90-second video I posted on social media of him playing a guitar solo at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival last year. He didn’t have that piece of media copyrighted. It was an improvised performance. I was just trying to compliment and promote him as a guitar player.
But this takes the cake: Earlier this year, Wyatt Flores had his set cancelled out due to rain at the Two Step Inn fest. So last minute, he booked a gig at Sagebrush in Austin to come in and perform. He brought Evan Honer with him. One of the songs they performed was Isbell’s “Vampires.” They worked to get Wayatt’s and Evan’s COVER of the song performed live taken down on social media. Tik-Tok deleted the audio. This is Garth Brooks-level content control stuff.
July 29, 2026 @ 1:05 pm
I saw a few clips on social media of Megan Moroney pulling the plug and like you stated she looked ill and tried to power through it and was genuinely sorry. I don’t know if she should be lumped in with these other mysterious cancelations.
I felt so bad for her I finally listened to her music.
July 29, 2026 @ 1:26 pm
Certainly didn’t want to lump Megan Moroney in with the “unforseen circumstances” crowd. I was more trying to use her as an example of an artist that did everything she could to make sure the show could go on, and then cancelled when she had no other choice.
July 29, 2026 @ 5:24 pm
I didn’t mean to imply you because I thought you did a good job in the article differentiating the cancellations. I should have said the people on social media saying “I drove 300 miles for this concert” crowd.
July 29, 2026 @ 1:52 pm
Luke Combs played in Maine one year. He didnt think his vocals were up to his standards but didn’t cancel and performed anyway. Two little boys had a sign saying they had chopped wood to earn $$ for their tickets and he refunded them and the entire crowd. He gained a lot of fans up here and their undying loyalty. It was all over the news.
July 29, 2026 @ 8:20 pm
Surprised to learn that two little boys are allowed to chop wood these days. Dangerous axe and all that.
July 30, 2026 @ 5:54 am
My mistake! They stacked it not chopped it, My brother’s been splitting wood, guess that was on my mind,
August 11, 2026 @ 2:09 am
Damn, so there’s no hope.
July 30, 2026 @ 9:42 am
Well, Combs is a good old boy who knows who butters his bread. He genuinely likes his fans. Isbell views his fans as a necessary evil. In his ideal world, the government would fund his bank account.
July 30, 2026 @ 10:23 am
” Isbell views his fans as a necessary evil.”
Let’s not get crazy here. There’s been no evidence that Isbell treats his fans like a “necessary evil.” There’s plenty to criticize Isbell about. Let’s not be excessive here.
July 30, 2026 @ 12:34 pm
“Let’s not be excessive here.”
First time on the internet? 😀
July 29, 2026 @ 2:07 pm
Not too long ago Isbell cancelled a string of shows for his girlfriend’s birthday. She posted him in a slide of pictures from it, so they didn’t try very hard to hide it. The dude sucks and couldn’t care less about his fans. How people still buy into his bullshit is beyond me.
July 29, 2026 @ 2:33 pm
The ol’ UNC National Championship Excuse.
July 30, 2026 @ 8:02 am
What do you mean “buy into his bullshit”? Personally, I just like his music. I don’t give two shits whether he “couldn’t care less about his fans.” I’m not trying to be his friend (hell, I’d probably prefer NOT to be his friend given what I know about him). I just like listening to great music.
July 30, 2026 @ 12:06 pm
Didn’t think that required explanation. A lot of his fans see him as a virtuous messiah. Doesn’t sound like you are one of them.
July 30, 2026 @ 5:39 pm
Are the “fans who think he’s a virtuous messiah” in the room with you now, sweetie?
What are they telling you about the fluoride in our water?
July 30, 2026 @ 8:46 pm
Very weird response, but I do have questions. Do you call a lot of people sweetie? If so, you should stop. Like yesterday. Is the fluoride part an insinuation that I’m in the MAHA camp? If so, exactly how did you get there?
You Isbell fans are an interesting breed.
July 31, 2026 @ 10:26 am
Oh I gotcha. I’m not on social media, so haven’t had that experience. But yeah, if people are holding him up as some wonderful role model, that’s pretty silly. As great of an artist as he is, he has proven himself to be arrogant, hypocritical, an asshole, etc. (as many great artists are). Even though I share many political beliefs as him, he’s one of those artists where I have to separate the art from the artist.
July 29, 2026 @ 2:34 pm
Drove 750 miles one way with hotel and seated tickets it’s been a very expensive concert to cancel. Tanglewood does not refund on no-shows. This will be my last time doing this. The notification came via email 18 hours before concert time. I believe performing artists have chosen their own ending. I’ll be better dialing up youtube from now on.
July 29, 2026 @ 3:32 pm
I’m so sorry that happened to you; many artists do not consider the physical and financial struggles their fans endure just to see them. You may consider emailing the Boston Symphony’s CEO (owners of Tanglewood), Chad Smith. His email should be csmith [at] bso [dot] org (I typed it like that so it wouldn’t get caught up in the comment filters).
July 29, 2026 @ 3:42 pm
I’m hoping the tickets are refundable because the new date doesn’t work for us.
July 29, 2026 @ 3:44 pm
People on a reddit thread are claiming they are getting refunds from the Tanglewood box office when they email them, so please try the email route.
July 29, 2026 @ 8:23 pm
There is no known reality where Isbell is worth all that.
July 30, 2026 @ 5:40 pm
That fucking sucks, man – I’m sorry.
July 29, 2026 @ 4:18 pm
In general this is why it never pays to be an asshole. At some point this is going to happen to every performer. But when you are an asshole to half your fan base and then have to do this for whatever reason you get little sympathy from the people that where cheering you on for being as asshole because they disliked who you were being an asshole to, and may or may not have liked you as well. Being magnanimous and full of grace in your public facing career will allow you to draw on a reserve of goodwill when you need it. I sure hope he is okay.
July 29, 2026 @ 4:26 pm
Isbell’s kind don’t believe the peasants are owed an explanation.
July 30, 2026 @ 7:26 am
yawn. you got JIDS.
July 30, 2026 @ 9:43 am
You have CKDS.
July 30, 2026 @ 5:46 pm
Is “CKDS” hoping someone notices that all the normal kids from his Philly suburb are married with a kid or two by now, and decides to dial back on the internet anger, internet grievance, and internet self-pity?
Asking for a friend, who knows the guy has a good heart.
July 31, 2026 @ 2:51 pm
Saying I am from the Philly area is dirty pool. Fortunately, I am nowhere near that slimy city.
Good fiction, though.
July 31, 2026 @ 6:10 am
oh cool the same joke i just made.
July 31, 2026 @ 2:52 pm
You repeated the joke above. So, you are only worthy of B-level material.
July 31, 2026 @ 3:42 pm
Let’s move on from this pointless back and forth.
July 29, 2026 @ 4:40 pm
Could be totally legit – frankly that would be my guess (sickness, death in the family, etc.).
Could also be some minor “oops, too many shows” like what happened with Musgraves.
Isbell is one of my favorites, but he’s been touring off Weathervanes how 3 years now. Foxes in the Snow really didn’t seem to make much of an impact – deservedly so IMO, it was a very mediocre album.
One can’t help but wonder if some of these cancellations are the result of an artist who doesn’t seem to have a lot of wind behind his sails right now with much of his fanbase already having paid to watch him live off Weathervanes and an acoustic album that hardly wowed people trying to push him live.
It’s sort of like Sturgill Simpson in my book – love the back catalogue, but even diehard fans are going to occasionally be like “yeah, I ain’t dropping good money to watch Mutiny After Midnight” live.
July 29, 2026 @ 5:28 pm
Two of the three shows were postponed, not cancelled. No indication this has anything to do with lagging ticket sales. These are small to mid-sized theater venues. Isbell’s overhead is low.
July 29, 2026 @ 7:12 pm
Man, you should probably hear those Foxes tracks with a full band arrangement – not that they need them – before you write them off on some fan fiction tragedy.
They might surprise you.
July 30, 2026 @ 8:05 am
Hell, even solo, I think it’s odd to just write that album off. Obviously not his best (or among his best in my opinion), but it is still a very solid album with some fantastic tracks.
July 30, 2026 @ 9:48 am
That’s always been the selling point with Isbell. Having that strong of a 25 year catalog, it’s shooting fish in a barrel every night when you have a handful of great tracks from every album (and band) to choose from. He can’t put together a bad setlist, the band is insanely talented, and their gear is worth a small fortune.
The 400 Unit arrangements for “True Believer” and “Gravelweed” are awesome. Full, punched up choruses drive those songs to the next level.
Other songs actually work better acoustically. “Eileen” really doesn’t need added accompaniment – knowing that it was written about sitting in an empty apartment and having a one sided conversation with a painting, the tone/tempo fits. “Ride to Robert’s” he’s kept acoustic in every performance I’ve seen – with and without Vaden.
Others flex well. “Bury Me” goes either way. They add a banjo to it with the full band, sounds great. “Crimson and Clay” works either way too.
July 30, 2026 @ 5:48 pm
My only issue with the last couple shows I’ve caught is the choice of It Ain’t It as a fucking encore song…but Foxes songs with the band have been everything I’d hoped
July 30, 2026 @ 7:04 pm
Haha fair. He does seem to have made it the new “Super 8”, post Weathervanes.
I love it, but it’s such a track for him and Vaden to just jerk off on. Adding a guitar change for the solos is so extra.
July 29, 2026 @ 4:49 pm
Caring for your mental health is all well and good till flaking on shows turns into a standard industry practice. And then wonder why there’s Blue Dot Fever.
It turns out that fans aren’t just fans, they are customers. And if an industry turns screwing the customers into a standard practice, they can do other things with their disposable income.
I don’t condone drug use, and don’t condone alcohol abuse, but there’s a lot to be said for sucking it up and fulfilling your commitments to your customers, even if it’s painful for you.
July 29, 2026 @ 8:47 pm
Lack of respect is all it is.
George Jones cancelled shows en large back then, being the wasted sociopath that he was. A golden voice can only carry you so far; when people almost expect you not to show up, your career and legacy are bound to take a deep dive to the very bottom.
Undeservedly for Jones, Sherrill came up with that mediocre Bobby Braddock tune and rescued Jones’s future, at least for a decade or so, and people returned to his shows again.
But Isbell (and literally every other “country” singer out here today) isn’t close to being a George Jones, so I doubt they will be able to bounce back after pissing off the followers one time too many.
If cancelling becomes the norm among artists, it will hurt them quickly.
July 30, 2026 @ 7:52 am
I never understood why “He Stopped Loving Her Today” is considered the best country song ever.
The genre has far more superior songs.
July 30, 2026 @ 1:20 pm
MGM 909
July 30, 2026 @ 3:43 pm
To his credit, he refused to record it for a long time, I’ll give ol’ Jones that, but he also recorded a shitload of inferior crap.
July 30, 2026 @ 4:03 pm
“He Stopped Loving Her Today” is “Let Him Roll,” without the white port wine and the Dallas whore. (And all the other details that only Guy Clark could come up with.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGfSbPuvR5s&list=RDsGfSbPuvR5s&start_radio=1
July 30, 2026 @ 6:52 pm
Hey Luckyoldsun,
Your mention of white port wine reminded me of the old song, “White Port and Lemon Juice”.
July 29, 2026 @ 5:32 pm
My area only gets maybe 2-3 acts a year even within 3 hours, so I fly 3-4 times a year to shows. Cancellations hurt—hotels are refundable up to 24 hours, but the airfare is either lost or “credited” with conditions. Then there’s time off, dealing with animals, all kinds of arrangements to leave even for 3 days. Maybe worse, some times, I could have gone to a different show—but chose “you” and now it’s too late for another. I get it when people are sick or have real emergencies. Otherwise, I’m done with that artist, and will let everybody know he’s a d13k. But really, they don’t care, not a lot we can do.
July 29, 2026 @ 7:52 pm
Ultimately this is just another notch in the poor character of a faded, drunk and abusive artist who released an acclaimed album 13 years ago and trigger has a crush on him so he constantly writes sonnet like love notes whenever Isbell breathes.
Isbell is an insufferable woke windbag who thinks he’s the greatest artist ever and that anyone who is right of mao is a nazi racist.
I’ve never understood why trigger loves him so, or why he felt called to recommend so many of his albums. Or why he sticks up for him so much.
The funny thing is had this been a right wing artist trigger would be writing in his little diary like fauci about how cnn and npr are going to think badly about our genre. How could Aldean cancel his shows and blow off the tour? How could Morgan no show? How could Aaron lewis just blow off those shows? Don’t they know some woke outlet might view us as inbred racists because of this?
Instead he excuses Isbell because he supports his politics. Trigger is a total phony and hack. We all see the partisan nature of this and the wasted talent of not just Isbell who has dined on southeastern’s successes for far too long, but also the pompous jerk nature of SCM.
July 29, 2026 @ 9:37 pm
If you hate Trig and SCM so damn much, why the hell are you here? I’ve certainly had my differences with him over the years but as a retired journalist I respect the time and effort he puts into SCM.
July 30, 2026 @ 12:07 am
He puts great effort into things and theres some great new discoveries, sometimes theres an obvious bias against people though.
July 30, 2026 @ 9:09 am
I just don’t understand how people can sell themselves on the idea that I am “bias” against Jason Isbell when I nominated “Weathervanes” for Album of the Year, and made “King of Oklahoma” Song of the Year. Those are some heavy, heavy sandbags if I’m just trying to throw people off the scent.
It was pretty much required that the media post about these cancellations and postponements since the otherwise prolific social media poster Jason Isbell did not even post about them himself. As another outlet pointed out, many folks didn’t even get notifications about it. I feel like I handled the information fairly and respectfully.
And by the way, there are a lot of disgruntled fans over this, more than I anticipated. No matter what the reason for the cancellations, it could have been handled better, if only by Isbell’s representatives.
July 30, 2026 @ 9:45 am
The contrast between Felker/Toby Keith drunken performances were the only time I felt an obvious bias.
Otherwise, Trigger is mostly populist.
July 31, 2026 @ 8:15 am
It’s funny how you objected to me criticizing trigger but few of anyone is objecting to my just as forceful objection to Isbell.
I’m here for country music and will applaud trigger when he gets it right but I’m not holding my tongue if he gets it wrong. Just because trigger and I share a love of country music doesn’t mean I have to give him a pass if he trashes Morgan, Aldean, and Aaron lewis. That’s silly. My dude is all in the comments every article he makes anyways.
I have just as much right to say Isbell sucks as trigger does to treat Isbell like he’s Moses. Why should I bite my words for the sake of not offending trigger or other woke Isbell fans? You all never hold back whenever there’s an article on Morgan. Why should I?
July 31, 2026 @ 8:19 am
Hey Megs Man,
Go read these articles:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/forgiveness-for-me-but-not-for-thee-on-jason-isbell-george-jones/
https://savingcountrymusic.com/jason-isbell-says-there-are-no-great-conservative-songwriters/
and then get back to us.
July 29, 2026 @ 10:48 pm
Trigger: ‘It sucks when shows get canceled last minute.’
Megs Man: ‘AND ANOTHER THING ABOUT MAO ZEDONG AND FAUCI—’
Leaving an unhinged political manifesto under a tour update is pure comedy. LMAO
July 30, 2026 @ 3:50 pm
In Meggie’s defense (there’s a first time for everything, obviously); that Fauci show ran in primetime for a few years.
July 29, 2026 @ 11:15 pm
Did you eat a lot of paint chips as a child?
July 30, 2026 @ 6:20 am
Stop and breathe and go outside for a bit. You’ll feel better. Whatever is bothering you, I hope it gets easier.
July 30, 2026 @ 7:29 am
megs man? oof. beta energy.
July 30, 2026 @ 8:01 am
Come on, man. Trig does us and the artists a great service here. It obviously takes a lot of sweat. No reason to bag on him.
I’ve read here for years and I don’t think I could even pinpoint his partisan leanings.
Which, obviously, don’t matter relative to the music.
July 30, 2026 @ 8:12 am
Something I find funny is that I repeatedly see Trigger being criticized as being too liberal/left AND too conservative/right…which tells me he isn’t really making it about politics at all. People just seem to love painting him in some way whenever they disagree with what he says.
Personally, I don’t know how he does it…it would be exhausting. Say something even remotely positive about Jason Isbell? “Woke snowflake!” Give Morgan Wallen a pass? “MAGA scum!” It’s like there is no room for nuance or discretion anymore
July 30, 2026 @ 8:07 am
I was reading this thinking it was satire, but then I remembered you were the person who was upset that Trigger has reviewed Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, and American Aquarium albums more favorably than Jason Aldean and Kid Rock.
July 30, 2026 @ 1:03 pm
Snowflake, cry more.
July 29, 2026 @ 8:52 pm
Jason Isbell also postponed his July 30 show at Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA with 48 hours notice. It was rescheduled for August 20. It would be good to know whether he and his band members were OK.
July 29, 2026 @ 11:01 pm
After what-his-name basically placed the bar on the ground by canceling a concert to attend some sports-ball circle-jerk – anything goes. Take the day off…pamper yourself…
July 29, 2026 @ 11:13 pm
It is disrespectful and discourteous to cancel without an explanation. Tickets are expensive but often not as expensive as travel and hotels. The audience I am sure will understand if there is a good explanation.
July 30, 2026 @ 5:15 am
A vague explanation is better than no explanation. Fans don’t need graphic details if it’s highly personal, so just say it’s highly personal. No big deal.
Artists need to be able to do this occasionally because life happens. Family deaths. Unexpected illness or injury. Eric Church has been rightfully drug over the coals for canceling for a ball game (don’t schedule shows during March–don’t cancel a poorly thought-out March show and leave a bunch of people out of a bunch of money). If you want to potentially attend the national championship, don’t schedule a show on that date.
I wish I felt a little more sympathy for the artists with the two recent cancellation decisions, but I don’t. They each have made their bed over the years and get to lie in it. Obviously, Kacey hasn’t made an ass of herself. In that case I’m referring to seeing country as “limiting” or whatever it is that makes great female country singers put out subpar pop albums at various points during their careers. Be grateful for what you’re good at–most artists can’t transcend genre.
July 30, 2026 @ 8:14 am
Yeah, I’m also confused when artists don’t at least give a very general idea. It reminds me of setting an out of office email. I’m obviously not going to go into details where I’m at, but I’m also going to at least give SOME indication so my clients don’t think I’m blowing off work.
July 30, 2026 @ 5:42 am
Lot of these this summer. Jason also PPD his Wolf Trap show this week. Again, thats one of his favorite venues and it always sells out for him so its likely not blue dot.
I dunno if anyone saw but Ryan Adams also cancelled his entire summer Europe tour, claiming he’s “wildly sick,” as if we didnt know that already…
July 30, 2026 @ 10:54 am
It definitely isn’t blue dot. I bought tickets for covered seats a few weeks ago. They were onesies and twos left when I bought them. And I imagine a good amount of lawn tickets are sold. Luckily for me the August 20 date works for me.
July 31, 2026 @ 5:42 am
Ive seen Jason many times at Wolf Trap. Glad hes playing later in August. Its nicer later in the season anyways
July 30, 2026 @ 8:00 am
Clarity is charity. If you are blessed enough to live the life solely as a musician and the people buying your tickets with their limited expendable income, then you at least owe them a reason why a show was canceled or postponed, especially if it was unavoidable.
July 30, 2026 @ 8:38 am
Finally! There hasn’t been an article that will get the comments section rolling with an intelligent discussion about music since July 15th! And that discussion was so balanced and insightful, it had to be closed. Thanks, Kyle. Whoot!
July 30, 2026 @ 12:33 pm
Megan maroney did it the right way. She made her best effort, then had to give it up, explained herself, and set up another date and said people could get their money back if couldnt make reschedule. I get it that travel cost hotels cant be made up.but thats just the risk of traveling for these shows. Isbell def should at least give a vague explanation and not be a made up one. Trigger did right by calling him n others out.
July 30, 2026 @ 5:32 pm
They probably canceled because of the weather that was on the way . He still should have posted some lame excuse. Anything is better than nothing. Tanglewood is a s***** place to see a show anyways. The one road in and out of the place. The parking sucks. The sound is terrible in the venue unless you’re right up front, People that work there constantly want you to sit down , other than that, it’s a great place. If you notice though, they rescheduled it Labor Day weekend when it’s about nearly impossible to get any type of place to stay around there. But also they filled in the weekend. Now it’s tedeschi trucks the first night Jason, the second night Alabama shakes the third night ..seems pretty convenient to me.
July 30, 2026 @ 10:34 pm
I see that Bailey Zimmerman is the latest to cancel an entire tour citing family issues which in his case probably means rehab.
July 31, 2026 @ 6:55 am
If a turd like Bailey Zimmerman can give a reason why he cancelled shows, even if it’s a white lie, so can Jason Isbell.
July 31, 2026 @ 7:25 am
Tanglewood is ultimately too upscale for Isbell.
July 31, 2026 @ 8:07 am
It’s almost like you specifically craft your comments to come across as aggressively uniformed. It’s quite remarkable.
July 31, 2026 @ 4:29 pm
In this time of rampant explosive diarrhea, any kind of cancellation is possible. A true performer pops on the Depends and hits the stage.
Stay clear of that lettuce folks