Jason Isbell: the outspoken, unlikely CMA Awards nominee

Every year, when the Country Music Association reveals the nominees for its annual CMA Awards, surprises are few and far between.

You expect to see the genre's stars and hit-makers up for the biggest awards — and if there's a lesser-known artist in the mix, they're at least tied to a major label.

But then there's Jason Isbell, who is none of those things.

The acclaimed Nashville singer/songwriter and his band The 400 Unit earned their first-ever CMA nomination this year. Their album, "The Nashville Sound," is nominated for Album of the Year, alongside Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert and Chris Stapleton.

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He's never had a hit country song — or aimed to have one. Unlike virtually every other CMA nominee, he's never appeared at its massive CMA Music Festival. He releases his albums through his own Southeastern Records, in partnership with Nashville label services company Thirty Tigers.

More:CMA Awards nominations: Who was left out?

And unlike many nominees before him, Isbell and his team didn't campaign to get on the ballot.

"Honestly, it was a surprise to us," said David Macias, Thirty Tigers co-founder and president.

"We're CMA members, and we vote. I voted for Jason, but he also made the best record of the year."

And that opinion, clearly, was a commonly held one. Isbell isn't a conventional "star," but he's a huge success. "The Nashville Sound" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Country Albums chart earlier this year (No. 4 overall), and he and his band played six sold-out shows at the Ryman Auditorium last month. 

Tuesday night, the song "If We Were Vampires," one of the highlights of the album, was featured on the acclaimed NBC show "This is Us."

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Since the June release of "Nashville Sound," Macias said he heard positive feedback from "tons of people in the country world."

"It didn't surprise me at all," he said. "I mean, this is a songwriting town, and Jason is one of the best songwriters there is. I think a lot of times when people get the opportunity to vote for what they consider a record with immense artistic merit, they do it."

'White Man's World'

Isbell's CMA nomination would have stood out at any time — but it's particularly striking in 2017.

The country music industry has come under close scrutiny this year, as most of its stars refrain from voicing their political opinions in incredibly polarized times. 

Many have remained silent on gun control after a country music festival became the site of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. 

More:Jason Isbell channels anger and anxiety into 'Nashville Sound'

The CMA even attempted to stop reporters from asking artists political questions at the CMA Awards — before an immediate wave of criticism (that included the show's co-host, Brad Paisley) forced them to quickly reverse course.

The morning after the shooting in Vegas, Isbell spoke his mind.

"It simply shouldn't be that easy to hurt that many people," he wrote on Twitter.

And in August, when President Donald Trump said the protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia included some "very fine people," Isbell even compared him to artists who "stick to the music."

"The president is ruled by fear of alienating his base," he tweeted. "He's 'sticking to the music' to try and keep racists on his side. It's horrifying."

Back in June, Isbell was being interviewed on "The Daily Show" — a program that rarely sees a country star as a guest — recalling his feelings the morning after the 2016 presidential election. He was taking care of his infant daughter, and was grateful that he didn't have to talk to her about Trump's victory.

"If she was a couple of years older I would have to be like, 'OK, honey, here's what happened today, and this is why your father doesn't really know anything about human people in this country anymore.’

"Because a couple of days ago, I thought I knew them," he said, recalling thinking, "They’re not gonna let this guy in there, because they know he’s not a good guy."

He channeled some of these feelings into one of the album's standout tracks, "White Man's World."

"I'm a white man living in a white man's nation," he sings. "I think the man upstairs must have took a vacation. I still have faith, but I don't know why. Maybe it's the fire in my little girl's eyes."

It might be hard to imagine a song like that being performed on the CMA stage, and unfortunately, we won't see it happen.

On the night of the CMAs, Isbell and The 400 Unit are performing in Germany in the midst of a European tour. But back when the nominations were announced in September, he expressed his gratitude.

"We're grateful for the CMA recognition," he wrote on Twitter. "Happy to be included in a category with some real country artists."