Music fans who tuned in to Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” on Tuesday got a treat as Jason Isbell had his first official reunion with the Drive-By Truckers for the first time in 18 years.
Isbell began his music career with the band back in 2001 and spent six years with the group before departing to go out on his own in 2007. According to Rolling Stone, the singer and his former group performed “Hell No, I Ain’t Happy,” off of their 2003 “Decoration Day” album on Colbert.
“We have remained friends with Jason, and honestly, he and I are closer now than ever,” Drive-By Truckers’ Patterson Hood said. “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.”
The “Late Show” shared a clip of the performance on Instagram and fans were loving it.
“We need a Decoration Day Anniversary tour with Jason so bad!” one person commented. “This is so amazing!”
“This (expletive) makes me so happy baby,” another wrote. “Absolutely love to see it.”
“This makes my soul so happy!!!!” another wrote.
You can see the post and the responses here.
According to Rolling Stone, the reunion came on the heels of the “Definitive” reissue of “Decoration Day.”
Also, while this was billed as the first official reunion, Rolling Stone said Isbell and the band have appeared on the same stage infrequently since he went solo. That included a 2021 show in Alabama in which the outlet said Isbell had an “impromptu sit-in” to play “Heathens,” and “The Day John Henry Died.”
Using the reunion term has given fans hope for an extended time together, but that might not be in the immediate future because Isbell already has his 2026 tour dates set up.