Jason Isbell fans were shook when it was revealed that the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter had filed for divorce from his wife, fellow singer/songwriter, 400 Unit band member and frequent collaborator, Amanda Shires, after nearly 11 years of marriage.
The two singers were married in February of 2013 following Isbell’s decision to get sober and stint in rehab the previous year. The two were married shortly after Isbell finished recording his Southeastern album, on which Shires accompanies Isbell with vocals and fiddle. The lead track, and perhaps Isbell’s most famous song, “Cover Me Up,” is a deeply personal love song written by Isbell to his wife, as Isbell credited Shires with convincing him to go to rehab and sober up, after he confessed to her that he needed help with his addiction. The song was later covered by Morgan Wallen.
In addition to being a member of The Highwomen, Shires has been featured on every album Isbell has released over the last decade, including his most recent album Weathervanes in 2023. She has also toured extensively with her husband.
The petition for divorce was filed December 15, 2023 in Williamson County Chancery Court, just outside of Nashville. Up until the actual filing, fans speculated that the two may be having marital problems when a birthday post that Shires made for Isbell was taken down shortly after it was posted, and the couple unfollowed each other on Instagram.
Neither party has addressed the split publicly… until now.
In a recent episode of Broken Record Podcast with with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond, Jason Isbell briefly touched on the divorce when asked how he is going to navigate it, marking his first public comments on their separation.
His answer was rather vague, and perhaps understandably so:
“What do you think I should do? Help? What do I do… I think I’m just going to try and be honest in all the ways that I legally can. There’s certain things we’ve agreed not to talk about but I think I can still manage to tell people who I am and what the truth is from my perspective. It’s one of those things where not everything that ends was a failure, you know? I think we did a lot of really beautiful things together and I have a really fond memories of all of that, and I don’t regret any of it, even the hard stuff.
It’s like when I got into recovery, I wound up after a few years looking back and thinking ‘I don’t regret even the worst parts of that’ because it all goes into making me who I am. And the time will come when the wounds aren’t still fresh, the time will come when I’m able to take all this and put it into my work in a way that is honest and true, but makes sense for me.
I’m gonna be patient and in the meantime I got plenty of other **** to write about. That’s one thing I think of a lot of songwriters miss is the inspiration… you don’t need it, man. You don’t need it, it’s everywhere. If you can’t look out your window and find 20 things to write about then you’re not a serious songwriter yet. Because it’s all over the place.”
Isbell won a pair of Grammys a couple weeks back, one for Best American Roots Song, and another for Best Americana Album. Shires did not attend.
Zach Bryan Announces 2024 Tour Featuring Jason Isbell & More
Zach Bryan has announced his extensive 2024 The Quittin’ Time tour, which will kick off in March of next year in Chicago, Illinois and run though December ending in his home state of Oklahoma at Tulsa’s BOK Center.
And not only is it an insane run of dates, Zach is taking out some absolute legends in the country music scene, having the Turnpike Troubadours and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit open up some shows, in addition to other heavy hitters in The Middle East, Sheryl Crow, Sierra Ferrell, Matt Maeson, and Levi Turner rotating dates on others.
You can check out the full schedule below, which even includes a few stadium dates in Denver, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Tampa and Minneapolis:
Zach Bryan’s The Quittin Time Tour 2024 Dates:
March 06 Chicago, IL United Center *^
March 07 Chicago, IL United Center *^
March 09 Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena *^
March 10 Buffalo, NY KeyBank Center *^
March 12 State College, PA Bryce Jordan Center *^
March 14 Newark, NJ Prudential Center *^
March 15 Newark, NJ Prudential Center *^
March 17 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena *^
March 18 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena *^
March 20 Milwaukee, WI Fiserv Forum *
March 22 Birmingham, AL Legacy Arena at the BJCC *^
March 25 Washington, D.C. Capital One Arena *^
March 27 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center *^
March 28 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center *^
April 26 Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena *^
April 29 Omaha, NE CHI Health Center *^
May 02 St. Louis, MO Enterprise Center *^
May 05 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena *^
May 06 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena *^
May 09 Knoxville, TN Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center *^
May 13 North Little Rock, AR Simmons Bank Arena *^
May 14 North Little Rock, AR Simmons Bank Arena *^
May 17 Oklahoma City, OK Paycom Center *^
May 18 Oklahoma City, OK Paycom Center *^
June 07 Las Vegas, NV T-Mobile Arena #^
June 08 Las Vegas, NV T-Mobile Arena #^
June 15 Denver, CO Empower Field at Mile High #^
June 22 Columbus, OH Buckeye Country Superfest
June 26 Foxborough, MA Gillette Stadium +^
July 30 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center @^
July 31 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center @^
August 03 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum @^
August 04 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum @^
August 07 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field %^
August 10 Atlanta, GA Mercedes-Benz Stadium !^
August 14 Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium +^
August 17 Arlington, TX AT&T Stadium +^
August 20 Kansas City, MO T-Mobile Center @^
August 24 Minneapolis, MN U.S. Bank Stadium %^
August 25 Grand Forks, ND Alerus Center @^
November 17 Edmonton, AB Rogers Place @^
November 18 Edmonton, AB Rogers Place @^
November 20 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena @^
November 22 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome @^
November 23 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome @^
November 26 Portland, OR Moda Center @^
November 27 Portland, OR Moda Center @^
November 29 Sacramento, CA Golden 1 Center @^
December 03 Glendale, AZ Desert Diamond Arena @^
December 04 Glendale, AZ Desert Diamond Arena @^
December 06 Salt Lake City, UT Delta Center @^
December 07 Salt Lake City, UT Delta Center @^
December 13 Tulsa, OK BOK Center @^
December 14 Tulsa, OK BOK Center @^
* The Middle East
+ Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
% Turnpike Troubadours
! Sheryl Crow
# Sierra Ferrell
@ Matt Maeson
^ Levi Turner
“Hey Driver (ft. The War & Treaty)”
