Iconic 'Outfit' Song Premieres at Legendary Athens Gig

In June 2022, just days after Father's Day, the Drive-By Truckers held an informal acoustic show in their hometown of Athens, Georgia. During the performance, their 23-year-old guitarist and budding songwriter Jason Isbell decided to debut a new song he had written as a Father's Day gift for his dad.

The song, titled 'Outfit', would go on to become a piece of Drive-By Truckers' history. The live recording of Isbell's first-ever performance of the track, as well as the remastered studio version, will now be included in the band's forthcoming reissue of their album 'Decoration Day'.

The live version of 'Outfit' captures the audience's enthusiastic reaction, with the crowd cheering along as Isbell sets the scene in the opening verse. The performance also showcases Isbell's evolving songwriting process, as he can be heard tinkering with the melody in the second verse.

According to Isbell, the song's perspective is not as earnest as some may interpret it to be. He was aiming to create a "particular kind of song" that would go against the typical country music advice track, instead opting to "just make a mess" and let the song "go wherever it wants to go."