“Finally got to play at my preferred volume again”: Jason Isbell joins Dinosaur Jr. for a cover of Cortez the Killer by Neil Young

Earlier this week, Jason Isbell joined 90s alt rock darlings Dinosaur Jr. onstage for a smashing cover of Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s Cortez the Killer.

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The surprise team-up arrived on night five of the band’s 30th anniversary shows in Brooklyn – with Isbell and J Mascis busting out their guitars for those crazy solos on the Neil Young classic.

Later that night, the country star took to Twitter/ X to comment: “Finally got to play at my preferred volume again.”

Finally got to play at my preferred volume again https://t.co/0POsfuDGse

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) December 7, 2023

Isbell was also glad to report that J Mascis did not in fact ‘blow out his ear drums’, saying: “Hell no that shit was therapeutic.”

“I know it’s not healthy and for my own music I turned down a long time ago, but tbh there’s only one way to really get that terrible magical sound. It’s gotta be everything louder than everything else,” he added.

I know it’s not healthy and for my own music I turned down a long time ago, but tbh there’s only one way to really get that terrible magical sound. It’s gotta be everything louder than everything else

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) December 7, 2023

Isbell, who earlier in the night played with Punch Brothers at the Minetta Lane Theatre, also had a message for his fellow genre-bending musicians: “Tonight I played with the Punch Brothers then went over to Brooklyn and played with Dinosaur Jr. so I say fuck a genre.”

Tonight I played with the Punch Brothers then went over to Brooklyn and played with Dinosaur Jr. so I say fuck a genre

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) December 7, 2023

Check out their performance of Cortez the Killer below.

Elsewhere in the night, Gumball’s Don Fleming and Jay Spiegel joined the band on two songs, including a cover of My Bloody Valentine’s Only Shallow; Against Me! Frontwoman and guitarist Laura Jane Grace then closed out the show with The Cure’s Just Like Heaven.

Dinosaur Jr.’s Brooklyn residence wraps up with shows on Thursday and Friday night.

Get your tickets at Dinosaur Jr.’s website.