Back when the balance of the 2020 election seemed to hinge solely on whether or not the state of Georgia would go to Biden and elect two Democractic senators, Jason Isbell made a promise to that great state. If they went blue, he’d release an album of covers devoted to the state. Well, we all know, now, that they came through, and now Isbell is too. He’s gearing up to release the aptly-titled Georgia Blue with his band The 400 Unit in just a few weeks, on October 15, so the slow trickle of singles promoting the record are beginning to see the light of day.
He’s already shared an Isbell version of R.E.M.’s “Driver 8,” but today the stakes are a bit higher: He enlisted a few other indie legends in the making to tackle “Midnight Train To Georgia.” Back in the early ’70s Gladys Knight & The Pips went all the way to No. 1 with this classic, and obviously Isbell wasn’t about to tackle Gladys’ part on his own. Instead, he graciously passed the baton to powerhouse vocalist in her own right, Brittney Spencer, and also got John Paul White (formerly of The Civil Wars fame) to round out the sound. Check out the cover above.