Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

The Read

Ben Nichols fronts Lucero, and stripped of the band his songs get rawer rather than gentler. Without Lucero behind him, the gravel in Nichols’s voice moves closer to the words. Both writers address the South without romanticizing it, though Nichols tends to come through wreckage while Isbell takes inventory. This is the start of the second week of the stand, which in past runs is where the setlists loosen. By then, the familiar songs have had their turn and the setlist can loosen. The 400 Unit are precise enough to make the loud songs land and restrained enough to leave the quiet ones alone.

The Venue

Ryman Auditorium

116 5th Ave N

The best-sounding hall in American music. A riverboat captain built it as a tabernacle in 1892, the pews are the originals, and artists talk about getting to play here the way athletes talk about a title.

On the bill

Also playing

The same booking at Ryman Auditorium, 6 dates in all.

• Thu Oct 15
• Fri Oct 16
• Sat Oct 17
• Thu Oct 22 · this one
• Fri Oct 23
• Sat Oct 24