Jason Isbell Was a Better Guitarist in 7th Grade Than We’ll Ever Be [WATCH]

Jason Isbell's known as a top-notch lyricists and guitarist thanks to both his lauded solo albums and his work with the Drive-By Truckers, the band he joined in his early 20s. Even earlier than that, though, Isbell had an incredible amount of talent on his chosen instrument.

Isbell's record label, Southeastern Records, shared old footage of the singer-songwriter playing guitar at a 1992 school event. Skillfully, Isbell launches into the Black Crowes' "She Talks to Angels" before playing the Allman Brothers Band's "Little Martha." He was in seventh grade at the time.

"I think this was the first time I ever played in public. Hopefully I’ll do that again at some point," Isbell writes of the performance, nodding to the COVID-19 pandemic that is keeping him off the road for the time being. "Threw in a little Black Crowes before getting down to the @allmanbrothers seriousness."

Isbell released his most recent album with his band, the 400 Unit, in May. Reunions is his seventh solo album since leaving the Drive-By Truckers in 2007; the record follows 2017's Americana Honors & Awards- and Grammy-winning project The Nashville Sound.

“There are a lot of ghosts on this album. Sometimes the songs are about the ghosts of people who aren’t around anymore, but they’re also about who I used to be, the ghost of myself," Isbell says in a press release. "I found myself writing songs that I wanted to write 15 years ago, but in those days, I hadn’t written enough songs to know how to do it yet. Just now have I been able to pull it off to my own satisfaction.  In that sense it’s a reunion with the me I was back then.”

Reunions was produced by Dave Cobb. Isbell released the album one week early to those who purchased the record from independent record stores.

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