Jason Isbell recently announced that proof of vaccination or a current negative COVID test would be required to attend his shows. He went on MSNBC on Monday morning to discuss the decision and the impact another lockdown could have on venues around the country.

“I think the people who work at the venues and work in the music business understand,” Isbell said during his interview. “From everything that I’ve heard so far, all the response I’ve gotten from people in the business has been positive because they understand we could go back to not working at all. And a lot of these smaller venues will not be able to reopen if they go through another round of shutdowns.”

“I think they understand, but they’re getting so much pushback from the governors of certain states who want to kowtow to their political base and try to make people think that their freedom is being encroached upon,” he continued. “I’m all for freedom, but if you’re dead, you don’t have any freedoms at all. So it’s probably important to stay alive before you start questioning your liberty, you know? It’s life and then it’s liberty and then it’s the pursuit of happiness and those are in order of priority.”

Isbell has been vocal about his new policy on his Twitter account, noting that: “We’re now requiring proof of vaccination or a current negative test to attend all our shows, indoors or out. If the venue won’t allow that, we won’t play.” Isbell and his band the 400 Unit are scheduled to play quite a few shows in the coming weeks and months, at both festivals and in states like Texas and Arkansas.

Here were the requirements for Isbell’s appearance at Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater this past weekend:

Isbell also got into it on Twitter last week with songwriter Marc Broussard after he announced his new regulations: