A tweet from Jason Isbell has captured the sentiment of life in coronavirus quarantine. While it wasn’t quite as uplifting as the assorted celebrity videos that flooded the internet back in March, it was nonetheless cathartic.
Things started on Friday when the Twitter account The Food Professor went viral asking what kind of drink the year 2020 would be. As the account racked up scores of replies, it was Isbell’s response that seemed to really hit home. In a quote-tweet, the singer said that if this year was, in fact, an alcoholic beverage, he simply “wouldn’t have had the damn thing.”
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I wish! If 2020 was a drink I wouldn’t have had the damn thing https://t.co/thGAQa3RJ9
— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) May 22, 2020
Isbell’s fans also had some fun with the question in his replies, comparing 2020 to everything from “a funneled jaeger bomb at a frat party where the house band only plays Nickleback without any irony through analog amps” and “milk from 2015.” Comedian John Wing also likened it to “a beer you set on a table at a party and when you weren’t looking someone put acid in it and then after you drank it, locked you in a basement.” Obviously, it hasn’t been a very popular year.
The Drive-By Truckers alum, who’s as proficient on Twitter as he is on the stage, will also be taking part in a concert to celebrate the life and legacy of John Prine. The renowned musician died from complications resulting from COVID-19 on April 7, which spurred an outpouring of support from fans to country music against alike.
Isbell and his band, the 400 Unit, will perform at the second annual All the Best Fest, a music festival in the Dominican Republic. It was originally scheduled for Nov. 2020 with Prine as a headliner, but will now shift to a tribute to “Sam Stone” singer. The event’s since been rescheduled to May 2021 and will feature artists including Steve Earle, Margo Price, Iris DeMent, John Hiatt, I’m With Her, as well as members of Prine’s backing band.
There’s also an upcoming livestream tribute concert, titled Picture Show: A Tribe Celebrating John Prine, will stream live on Facebook and YouTube on June 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The event was organized and produced by the Prine family in conjunction with Oh Boy Records. However, special guests haven’t been announced just yet.
