Critic's Pick: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s Ryman Residency

“Traditionnnnnnn, tradition!” Why am I channeling my dear late mom channeling Tevye the Dairyman any time Fiddler on the Roof came on TV, you ask? As it has been for more than a decade, it is time once again for champion songsmith Jason Isbell and the current iteration of his crack band The 400 Unit to settle in for a residency run at the Ryman. As of this writing, Isbell has not yet announced a follow-up to his 2025 solo acoustic record Foxes in the Snow, so this six-night engagement may serve as an opportunity to road test some new material. Or it could be a time to revisit the fan favorites, either in their beloved forms or with new arrangements. Maybe a bunch of deep cuts will be on deck. Or perhaps a little of all of the above. We do know that Isbell and company’s choice of openers this time focuses on another Tennessee music mecca: Memphis. Rocking and soulful band Southern Avenue plays Night 1, followed on Night 2 by classic-style soul outfit The Bo-Keys and then Al Kapone and the Blues-Rap Band. When the series picks back up on Oct. 22, Lucero main man Ben Nichols opens the fourth night, with grooving songsmith Amy LaVere and soul-jazz trio Tony Thomas Three rounding out the run. 

Oct. 15-17 & 22-24 at the Ryman

116 Rep. John Lewis Way N.