Rising country star Brittney Spencer takes lead on a soulful new cover of Gladys Knight & the Pips’ “Midnight Train to Georgia,” which will appear on Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit‘s upcoming album, Georgia Blue.
The song, which also features backing vocals from John Paul White, is the second release from Isbell’s upcoming covers album, which is due out on Oct. 15 via Southeastern Records.
Georgia Blue sees Isbell making good on a promise he made during the 2020 United States presidential election, when he tweeted that he would make an album featuring covers of his favorite Georgia songs if Joe Biden managed to carry the state.
“I will admit my motivations were a bit selfish,” Isbell said about his decision to record a covers album. “For years, I’ve been looking for an excuse to record these songs with my band and some friends … We have roots and blues and R&B, so we enlisted some brilliant artists to help us pull off songs by Precious Bryant, James Brown and Gladys Knight.”
Georgia Blue features a slew of Americana icons — including Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, Bela Fleck and Adia Victoria — covering classic song by R.E.M., James Brown, Otis Redding, the Allman Brothers Band and the Indigo Girls, among others.
Spencer has recently been joining Isbell and his band on tour, and has a handful of tour dates with them planned for this fall and winter, including the second night of Isbell’s eight-night October residency at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Notably, with the exception of Shires, all of Isbell’s opening acts during the residency will be Black women artists.
Georgia Blue is available for pre-order/pre-save. Proceeds from the album will go to Black Voters Matter, Fair Fight and Georgia Stand-Up, organizations dedicated to protecting voting rights.
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