Drive-By Truckers will revisit one of the most important records in their catalogue this November with the release of The Definitive Decoration Day. Out November 14, 2025, via New West Records, the 4-LP box set gives the 2003 classic a fresh life, remixed by original producer David Barbe, remastered by Greg Calbi, and cut at Abbey Road Studios.
Long regarded as the Truckers’ masterpiece, Decoration Day was the band’s first record with Jason Isbell, who arrived in late 2001. It introduced future standards such as “Sink Hole,” “Marry Me,” “My Sweet Annette,” and Isbell’s early contributions “Outfit” and the title track. The album cemented the band’s reputation as the heirs to Southern rock’s storytelling tradition, weaving grit, humour, and tragedy into equal measure.
The new box set doesn’t stop at polishing the original. It also includes the previously unheard double live album Heathens Live at Flicker Bar, Athens, GA – June 20, 2002. Recorded at a tiny bar in the Truckers’ hometown just blocks from the 40 Watt Club, the stripped-down set captured the band road-testing much of Decoration Day before it was finished. Patterson Hood calls it “a beautiful document of our band at a very crucial and joyous moment in time.”
To top it off, the set features a 40-page, full-colour book of rare photos, artwork, and a new essay by Stephen Deusner, author of Where the Devil Don’t Stay: Traveling the South with the Drive-By Truckers.
The remixed “Sink Hole” alongside the live version from Flicker Bar are giving fans a taste of how the songs have been revitalised. The track, loosely inspired by Ray McKinnon’s Oscar-winning short The Accountant, tells the tale of a farmer pushed to his limit by a greedy banker-territory the Truckers have always handled with raw honesty.
Decoration Day’s influence has only grown over the last two decades. Isbell himself says: “The legacy of the band has definitely grown, and there’s a new appreciation for the Truckers and especially for that era of Decoration Day.” Younger artists like Wednesday, MJ Lenderman, and Waxahatchee cite the record as foundational, while Craig Finn of The Hold Steady calls it “a true American classic.”
Following the deluxe reissues of Southern Rock Opera and The Complete Dirty South, The Definitive Decoration Day will be released on digital, standard black vinyl, and a 3-CD set. Collectors can chase down special limited editions, including olive, burgundy, and Athens-only red-and-black variants, with just 300 of the latter pressed.
The Definitive Decoration Day Tracklisting
The Original Album – Remixed & Remastered
The Deeper In
Sink Hole
Hell No, I Ain’t Happy
Marry Me
My Sweet Annette
Outfit
Heathens
Sounds Better in the Song
(Something’s Got to) Give Pretty Soon
Your Daddy Hates Me
Careless
When the Pin Hits the Shell
Do It Yourself
Decoration Day
Loaded Gun in the Closet
Heathens Live at Flicker Bar, Athens, GA – June 20, 2002
Flicker Heathens (intro)
Do It Yourself
Careless
The Deeper In
Sink Hole
Hell No, I Ain’t Happy
Marry Me
Outfit
Heathens
My Sweet Annette
(Something’s Got to) Give Pretty Soon
Your Daddy Hates Me
Decoration Day
Loaded Gun in the Closet
Panties in Your Purse
TVA
Uncle Frank
The Living Bubba
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