Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit helped jumpstart the post-writers’ strike era on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with a performance of “When We Were Close.”
All late-night shows went dark on May 2nd in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America strike. But after 148 days and one long-awaited resolution, writers are back and so is late-night television. Hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon and John Oliver all returned to their late-night spots this week.
During Kimmel’s opening monologue, he addressed the five-month strike, jokingly saying, “This is a big win for the little guy. This is a big win for the chubby guy and the hairy dude and the weird girl who doesn’t make eye contact and for the two potheads in the Star Wars t-shirts that are too small for their bodies and the guy who is too old to have a ponytail and the lady whose two cats each have their own Instagram page. We call them writers, and they are all back to work.”
While Hollywood was on strike, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit remained active throughout the summer, dropping their ninth studio album, Weathervanes. Monday night’s performance marked the band’s first television appearance since releasing the project.
Watch the full performance here.
