After Live Nation announced that artists will have the option to decide whether to require fans to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination, singer-songwriter Jason Isbell spoke about why he will uphold those requirements at all of his upcoming fall shows with the 400 Unit.
“They’re just getting so much pushback from some of the governors of certain states who want to kowtow to their political base and try to make people think their freedom is being encroached upon,” Isbell said during an appearance on MSNBC. “I’m all for freedom, but if you’re dead, you don’t have any freedoms at all.”
The Grammy-winning musician said that people in the music industry support his decision to mandate vaccinations for indoor and outdoor events. “People who work at the venues and who work in the music business understand,” he said to MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle. “A lot of these smaller venues, they’re not going to be able to reopen if they go through another round of shutdowns.”
However, there are some musicians who don’t share Isbell’s view. The singer Marc Broussard called Isbell “bourgeois” and an “elitist” on Twitter for requiring attendees to be vaccinated. Isbell fired back: “How many kids are in the hospital in Louisiana right now, the place you love so much? How many of our heroes died in the last year and a half? You seriously need to rethink some shit.”
