Grammy winner Jason Isbell finishes his degree at University of Memphis. How it happened.
More than two decades after quitting the University of Memphis, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jason Isbell has finally received his degree from the school.
On Sept. 18, the University of Memphis Alumni Association tweeted a photo of Isbell accepting a certificate recognizing him as a "new alumnus" of the school before his Sept. 16 show at Memphis Botanic Garden.
Isbell — who attended Memphis in the 1990s studying English and Music — completed his degree through the university's Finish Line Program, according to a university spokesperson. The program helps students with 90 or more credits who have had a break in their education finish their coursework. It has helped more than 700 students complete their degrees since 2013.
As Isbell recalled in a 2017 interview with The Commercial Appeal, he quit the U of M just a few credits shy of getting his diploma.
“I had just one class left! It was human fitness and wellness, a book course on basic physical education,” Isbell said. “I was in there for about six weeks, and I just got to the point where I didn’t care how many calories were in a potato and I just walked out. It just occurred to me one day that nobody can stop me from leaving, so I just left.”
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It was also while in Memphis that Isbell really started his career as a singer-songwriter, playing his first solo gigs. “Sometimes I played at The Map Room Downtown. I’d hang out there and drink coffee late at night," he said. "I was singing my own songs then. Probably the first batch of songs that anybody ever heard of mine were ones that I played at The Map Room.”
After leaving Memphis, Isbell would go on to join roots rockers Drive-By Truckers and eventually launch a solo career. Since the release of his 2013 breakthrough album, "Southeastern," he’s won four Grammy awards and become one of Americana music's biggest stars. In addition, he’s written songs for the Bradley Cooper-directed remake of “A Star is Born,” and Isbell will make his on-screen film debut in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
During his numerous performances in Memphis over the years, Isbell would often mention that he’d dropped out of the University of Memphis before he could don cap and gown. According to school officials, Michele Sides, senior director of development at the university, spoke to Isbell after a performance in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, last year regarding his interest in finishing his degree and worked with his manager to get put the wheels in motion.
Isbell’s degree — a Bachelor of Professional Studies in English and Music Studies from the College of Professional and Liberal Studies — will officially be conferred at a commencement in December, the university said.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Jason Isbell finishes degree at University of Memphis: How it happened
