Jason Isbell Defends Requiring COVID Vaccine at Concerts, Says 'No Freedom' if Dead

Musician Jason Isbell defended requiring people to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend his concerts while appearing on MSNBC Monday morning. Isbell, a four-time Grammy winner known for his work with the band The 400 Unit, told host Stephanie Ruhle that while he is all for freedom, "if you're dead, you don't have any freedoms at all." "It's probably important to stay alive before you start questioning your liberty," he said. "It's life, and then it's liberty, and then it's pursuit of happiness. Those are in order of priority." Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the cancellation of concerts throughout 2020 and much of 2021, Isbell has not been able to play in-person shows, and he worries that being able to might not last very long if the music industry is not careful.

"There's never enough. We can't guarantee that everyone coming to the show is coming safely and that they're not going to be spreading the virus," he said. It's up to everyone to do what they can to keep the music business running and that requiring vaccines feels safer to him, he said. "We're going to get shut back down again real soon if we don't start doing this," he said. When Ruhle asked if he had considered canceling a series of shows in Austin, Texas, he said he had considered it out of concern, specifically for young children who are unable to be vaccinated. Instead, he decided to require either a vaccine card or a negative test to attend, in addition to asking everyone to wear a face mask.

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"I'm scared," he said. "I'm scared for the audience, I'm scared for people's kids at home and school who can't get the vaccine yet." He said he understand that he will receive pushback, and called out states that are threatening to withhold funds from venues that allow artists to require the vaccine. He said he would cancel shows at those venues, if needed. "The problem is, they're just getting so much pushback from governors of certain states who want to cow-tow to their political base and try to make people think their freedom is being encroached upon," he said. Isbell said he believes people working in the industry understand the risk of the highly transmissible Delta variant, which has fueled a recent surge in cases. He also called attention to smaller concert venues, which he said would not be able to survive another lockdown. He continued defending his decision on Twitter. "We're now requiring proof of vaccination or a current negative test to attend all our shows, indoors or out. If the venue won't allow that, we won't play," he wrote. Newsweek reached out to Thirty Tigers, the label to which Isbell is signed. A spokesperson had forwarded the request for comment to his team, which did not respond by publication. Some concerts and music festivals have made a return in the summer, including Lollapalooza, where attendees were required to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to attend. However, some people were concerned over what they believed were lax checking of vaccination cards amid the increase in Delta-fueled cases.