Jason Isbell, and Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, at Red Rocks (photo by @joshweichman)
There was a poll in a certain Paper of Record last week – maybe you saw it – naming the top 30 living American songwriters. And, in a rare critical twist, I’m not going to quibble with that list. However… if I were going to commit such a list to paper, it would center primarily on artists actively writing this century’s best songs. As it turns out, a pair of them – Jason Isbell and Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – were playing Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Saturday night. If you were in search of songs – GREAT songs – this was the best place in America to be.
The evening was a bit of a study in contrasting styles. Welch and Rawlings took the famed Morrison, Colorado stage as the remaining warmth of a beautiful early May afternoon lingered for a few extra minutes. Theirs was a no-frills show – two acoustic guitars, the occasional harmonica and banjo (which, as Welch reminded us, becomes temperamental in the cool, dry foothills air), and their two voices blending seamlessly. Their hour-long set featured selections from their excellent 2024 record, Woodland, including the mournful “Empty Trainload of Sky” and those aforementioned harmonies on “What We Had,” but also dipped back into some of the best work the pair has done, from “Cumberland Gap” to the spellbinding “Revelator.” The couple their set by honoring two more great songwriters with their own signature blend of Bright Eyes’ “Method Acting” and Neil Young’s “Cortez the Killer.”
Roughly half an hour later, Isbell and his 400 Unit started their set with his “Cumberland Gap” (coincidentally, also released in 2017). This kicked off a 21-song barnburner of a show which, by my count, shared only six songs with the band’s night-before show at Denver’s Mission Ballroom. Without a recent album to promote (Isbell’s solo acoustic record, Foxes in the Snow, came out over a year ago), the band (drummer Chad Gamble, keyboardist Derry deBorja, guitarist Sadler Vaden, bassist Anna Butterss and multi-instrumentalist Will Johnson) seems to find renewed pleasure in dipping back into their archives. The guitar solos are longer (Isbell happily confessed to getting a bit lost during Vaden’s extended work on “This Ain’t It”), the cuts are deeper (“Streetlights” and “Danko/Manuel” made welcome appearances), and Isbell has found a fresh need to play “Dress Blues.” The song (which appeared on both Colorado setlists) honors Matthew Conley, a Marine from Isbell’s Alabama hometown who was killed in action. As we find ourselves in yet another conflict of our own making, Isbell’s not going to let us forget the very human cost of our reckless aggressions.
Red Rocks was roughly my 35th Isbell show (going all the way back to Richmond, Virginia in 2009, and including all 12 Red Rocks appearances), so I can say with some amount of credibility that Saturday night was an all-timer. Will Johnson has proven to be an invaluable asset to the band, providing guitar, vocal harmonies, and a second set of drums on tunes like “Crimson and Clay,” by far the best full-band arrangement from that solo record (fans have been speaking up for an Electric Foxes and, after this weekend, I’m adding my voice to that group). “Children of Children,” an absolute show-stopper, features my favorite rock-star moment – a mid-song guitar switch and an electrifying, stage-center Isbell solo. And, after an (understandable) disappearance for the past year or so, Isbell’s most well-known song, “Cover Me Up,” has rejoined the set. Does it recall the early days of his romance with now ex-wife Amanda Shires? Sure. But it’s also about his still-ongoing recovery from addiction – it’s a story that can help others, and it’ll always be his to tell.
After “Cover Me Up” wrapped the main set with drummers Gamble and Johnson sending sonic booms over Denver’s western suburbs, Isbell and the band retook the stage, joined by Welch and Rawlings. Earlier in the evening, Isbell called the pair “the ones I put on when I need music the most,” and the group took the opportunity to honor another legendary figure, the late John Prine, on one of the last stages he ever graced. After playing his classic “Paradise,” featuring Vaden on mandolin, Isbell remarked, “We miss that John Prine, but he left us with so much.” Isbell then left us with two epics of his own, “If We Were Vampires” and a searing “Decoration Day.” What a perfect way to end a week of songwriter discourse.
Go here to check out tour dates for Jason Isbell: https://www.jasonisbell.com/shows
For Welch and Rawlings shows, go here: https://www.gillianwelch-davidrawlings.com/tour
Enjoy some of our previous coverage here: Show Review: Jason Isbell solo at Hylton Center at George Mason University and here: REVIEW: Gillian Welch and David Rawlings “Woodland”