Two of the best singer-songwriters going, Jason Isbell and Ryan Adams, played sets right after each other on the Sutro Stage at San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival on Sunday. Jason and Ryan swapped guest spots as Adams emerged to help Isbell on a Rolling Stones cover, while later in the night Isbell emerged to sit-in with Ryan Adams & The Shining.
Adams took the stage a half-hour early, joining Isbell and the 400 Unit – minus fiddle player Amanda Shires, who spent the weekend debuting songs from her upcoming solo release My Piece of Land at the Open Highway Festival in St. Louis – on a loose cover of the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers deep cut “Sway.” Isbell, Adams and guitarist Sadler Vaden all traded solos throughout the five-minute tune, with the entire band chiming in on harmonies during the chorus. An hour or so later, Isbell returned the favor, strapping on his Telecaster and joining Adams for a gorgeous take on the Heartbreaker ballad “Oh My Sweet Carolina.”
Close friends for years, Adams and Isbell shared three different tours during the 18 months leading up to Isbell’s breakthrough album,Southeastern. They’ve teamed up for one-off performances several times since then, with Isbell and Shires mostly recently joining Adams during his 2015 performance at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Together, the two men represent pillars of Americana’s past and present, with Adams‘ solo debut Heartbreaker playing a role in kickstarting the genre back in 2000, and Isbell’s most recent release Something More Than Free standing tall as the Grammy Awards’ reigning Best Americana Album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF4NeakVLRc
Jason Isbell brought out Ryan Adams for the last song of his set, a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Sway.” Adams added guitar and took a solo as part of the performance of “Sway.” The cover came to a close with Ryan and Jason dueling it out on guitar. Ryan performed at Outside Lands with his latest band, The Shining. Adams brought out Isbell towards the end of his set to help out on “Oh My Sweet Carolina.”
The Fat Angel Sings 