Jason Isbell will now require proof of vaccine or a negative Covid test at all of his upcoming shows with the 400 Unit. The singer-songwriter appeared on MSNBC to discuss the decision, which affects a busy fall schedule that includes multiple nights in Nashville.
“We’re now requiring proof of vaccination or a current negative test to attend all our shows, indoors or out,” he tweeted. “If the venue won’t allow that, we won’t play.”
Isbell explained to MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle that he’d gotten positive feedback on his decision from people working in the music industry and particularly in the touring sector.
“People who work at the venues and who work in the music business understand,” Isbell told Ruhle. “From everything I’ve heard so far all the response I’ve gotten from people in the business has been positive because they understand that we could go back to not working at all. A lot of these smaller venues, they’re not going to be able to reopen if they go through another round of shutdowns.”
Some of those smaller venues and industry workers are located in places where they’re also facing pressure from leaders who want them open with zero requirements.
“They’re just getting so much pushback from some of the governors of certain states who want to kowtow to their political base and try to make people think their freedom is being encroached upon,” Isbell said. “I’m all for freedom, but if you’re dead, you don’t have any freedoms at all. It’s probably important to stay alive before you start questioning your liberty.”
Isbell had announced at the end of last week that his shows at Austin’s Moody Theatre and Tulsa’s Cain’s Ballroom would be requiring proof of vaccinations or a negative test within 72 hours. Many applauded the move, but singer Marc Broussard lashed out at Isbell, calling the decision “bourgeois” and “elitist.” Isbell fired back at Broussard with a call to his humanity. “How many kids are in the hospital in Louisiana right now, the place you love so much? How many of our heroes died in the last year and a half? You seriously need to rethink some shit.”
Live events and some cities have been slowly moving in this direction as transmission of Covid’s delta variant has new case numbers surging. Chicago’s Lollapalooza festival required its attendees to show proof of vaccination or a negative test, while Live Nation is putting that decision in the hands of its artists. Some festivals, like Kentucky’s Railbird, have followed suit, while others like New Orleans’ Jazzfest have rescheduled until 2022. So far, no mandates have been placed on Tennessee’s Bonnaroo, set for Labor Day weekend, or Texas’ Austin City Limits Festival in early October.
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