By CLTure
June 5, 2024
Photo: Daniel Coston / CLTure
Sturgill Simpson is making his highly anticipated return to music with a new album under the name, Johnny Blue Skies, accompanied by an extensive fall tour that will make stops in Asheville (October 21 at ExploreAsheville.com Arena) and Cary (October 22 at Koka Booth Amphitheatre). The dates are billed as Sturgill Simpson’s Why Not? Tour featuring very special guest Johnny Blue Skies.
In 2021, Simpson expressed that he would only release five studio albums, telling Rolling Stone, “This is the last Sturgill record.” Now he’s introducing his new alias, Johnny Blue Skies, with a forthcoming album, Passage Du Desir, scheduled to be released on July 12, featuring eight songs produced by himself and David Ferguson (Johnny Cash, John Prine, Tyler Childers).
Simpson is also celebrating 10th anniversary of his breakout album Metamodern Sounds in Country Music this year with a special reissue. His third studio album, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, released in 2016, won Best Country Album at the 59th Grammy Awards, and was also nominated for Album of the Year.
In 2019, he released Sound & Fury, marking a significant departure from his traditionally Americana style of music, incorporating psychedelic rock and electronica with grittier guitar riffs, synthesizers, and experimental sounds. Simpson’s latest album, The Ballad of Dood and Juanita, released in 2021, is a concept album that tells the story of a man named Dood and his quest to rescue his kidnapped wife, Juanita, returning to his country and bluegrass roots. Outside of music, Simpson has recently acted in films and television shows such as Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, Queen & Slim, The Creator, and the HBO series, The Righteous Gemstones.
Simpson is also scheduled to headline Outside Lands and Austin City Limits Music Festival later this year. You can register for the pre-sale starting Wednesday, June 12 at 10 a.m. Tickets will go on sale to the public starting Friday, June 14 at 10 a.m.
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