Sturgill Simpson

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Lore & Background

Simpson formed the country rock band Sunday Valley in 2004, which played at the Pickathon festival in Portland, Oregon. He later moved to Nashville but says he "didn't have the foggiest notion of how to hustle my music ... [it] was a total bust." Setting his musical ambitions aside, Simpson focused on building a career at a Salt Lake City railroad freight-shipping yard for Union Pacific Railroad, which he eventually ended up managing. He credits his wife and friends with convincing him to get serious about music as a potential career. After playing local open mics and gigs, Simpson returned to Sunday Valley, touring and making an album with the band and producer Duane Lundy. He and his wife moved to Nashville when the group disbanded in 2012. After going solo, Simpson released his debut album High Top Mountain in 2013, which he self-funded, self-released, and had cut in Nashville. The album was produced by Dave Cobb. Among the session musicians were Hargus "Pig" Robbins on piano and Robby Turner, a former guitarist for Waylon Jennings, on steel guitar. The record is named after a cemetery near Jackson where many of Simpson's family members are buried.

In Their Own Story

In 2014, Simpson released his second album, again produced by Dave Cobb, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, to positive reviews. The lead single was "Living the Dream." Simpson said that "recording and mixing was done in five and a half days for about $4,000. I was pretty proud about that." The album was ranked as one of the ten best of the year by The New York Times writer Nate Chinen. Metamodern Sounds in Country Music received a Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album in 2014. Simpson made his US network television debut on July 14, 2014, on the Late Show with David Letterman, playing "Life of Sin." That year, he would go on to play "Living the Dream" on a September episode of Conan, "Turtles All the Way Down" on an October episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and "The Promise" on a December episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers. In 2015, he returned to The Late Show and Conan, respectively playing "Long White Line" in February and "Just Let Go" in April. He played the Grand Ole Opry, and he also opened for Willie Nelson at Austin City Limits. In late 2015, he was the opening act for Merle Haggard.

Reader's Guide

Simpson's third album, A Sailor's Guide to Earth, was released in April 2016 on Atlantic Records. The album, which was recorded live, has been described as a "heartfelt" guide to living from Simpson to his infant son, and Simpson produced it himself, replacing Dave Cobb, the producer of his two previous records. It features work by The Dap-Kings from Brooklyn's Daptone Records, as well as a cover of Nirvana's "In Bloom." Sailor's Guide was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Country Album at the 59th Grammy Awards. In January 2017, Simpson appeared on the Felicity Jones-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live, playing "Keep It Between the Lines" and "Call to Arms." On November 8, 2017, Simpson livestreamed himself busking and meeting fans outside the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville during the Country Music Association Awards ceremony, as a tongue-in-cheek response to his not being nominated for or invited to that year's awards. Eight years after its release, the album's track "Breakers Roar" was featured in the 2024 film Civil War. Simpson's fourth album, Sound & Fury, was released on September 27, 2019, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album at the 63rd Grammy Awards. He released two albums in 2020 – Cuttin' Grass, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 – which feature bluegrass interpretations of songs from across his catalog, and marked his return to independent music. His seventh studio album, The Ballad of Dood and Juanita was released in August 2021. Having promised to release only five studio albums under his own name (not counting the Cuttin' Grass project) Simpson debuted the alter ego Johnny Blue Skies for his eighth album Passage du Desir. His second album as Johnny Blue Skies and his first to share billing with his band The Dark Clouds, Mutiny After Midnight, was released in 2026.

Did You Know?

• Simpson's debut album High Top Mountain is named after a cemetery near Jackson, Kentucky where many of his family members are buried.
• His second album Metamodern Sounds in Country Music was recorded and mixed in five and a half days for about $4,000.
• Simpson's cover of "The Promise" by 1980s band When in Rome was featured in Season 2 Episode 9 of the HBO series The Leftovers in November 2015.
• On November 8, 2017, Simpson livestreamed himself busking outside the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville during the CMA Awards as a response to not being nominated or invited.
• Simpson debuted the alter ego Johnny Blue Skies for his eighth album Passage du Desir, having promised to release only five studio albums under his own name.