Band and former member come together to perform “Hell No, I Ain’t Happy” from 2003’s Decoration Day
As promised, Drive-By Truckers reunited with Jason Isbell “officially” for the first time in 18 years on Tuesday’s Late Show.
The band and their former member delivered “Hell No, I Ain’t Happy,” a track off their 2003 album Decoration Day, which recently received a “Definitive” reissue stocked with bonus tracks, including a new remix and a 2022 live recording.
“We have always remained friends with Jason, and honestly, he and I are closer now than ever,” Drive-By Truckers’ Patterson Hood previously said of the Late Show performance in a statement. “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.”
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While the Colbert performance was billed as the first time that the band and Isbell have officially reunited, the group and their former guitarist have infrequently come together onstage over the past two decades since Isbell’s exit in 2007: In 2017, Isbell popped onstage for a song when the band played Nashville. More recently, Isbell joined the Drive-By Truckers in 2021 for an impromptu sit-in at his own Shoals Fest in Alabama, playing guitar on “Heathens” and singing “The Day John Henry Died.”
While Isbell and the Truckers might come together again in the future, don’t expect a full-on reunion in the wake of the Decoration Day reissue, as Isbell has already announced 2026 tour dates with his 400 Unit.
