Sturgill Simpson, the Kentucky singer-songwriter who gained popularity nearly a decade ago but then seemed to vanish from the music scene, is making a comeback. On June 5, Simpson entered a new career chapter with a new album, tour, and name.
On Wednesday morning, Simpson announced a new name, Johnny Blue Skies, when his website touted a new album, Passage du Desir, coming July 12.
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That name may sound familiar to anyone attending the Stagecoach festival in late April. A billboard outside the California festival grounds announced, “Beware the dread pirate Johnny Blue Skies,” and directed people to johnnyblueskies.com. This website redirects to Simpson’s homepage.
Tickets for the 28-date tour will go on sale this week. Fans can register for pre-sale through June 10 at sturgillsimpsonlive.com to receive early access to tickets starting at 10 a.m. local time on June 12. A limited number of tickets will be available for general on-sale at 10 a.m. local time on June 14 at the same website while supplies last.
The upcoming tour, the “Why Not? Tour,” will coincide with Simpson’s first new album in a decade, released under the name Johnny Blue Skies. The album, “Passage Du Desire,” will be released on July 12 on Simpson’s independent label, High Top Mountain Records.
Last month, Simpson reissued the tenth-anniversary release of his landmark album, “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music,” which was nominated for a 2015 Grammy for Best Americana Album. Originally released on May 13, 2014, the album marked Simpson’s career breakthrough. It ushered in a new chapter within country music, setting the stage for countless other outsider artists to push the genre forward for years to come; the lasting impact of Metamodern continues to be felt today.
Watch “Turtles All the Way Down” by Sturgill Simpson
Named one of Rolling Stone’s “Greatest Country Albums of All Time” in 2022, The New York Times called it “one of the most jolting country albums in recent memory, and one that achieves majesty with just the barest of parts,” while Stereogum asserted, “will endure as one of this young century’s best traditionalist country records” and The Faderaffirmed, “a take on the genre that seemed totally renegade to where country sits in popular culture now, and wholly in line with its original principles.”
The album landed on best-of-the-year lists at numerous publications, including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, the Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop, NPR Music, American Songwriter, Stereogum, the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Paste, KCRW, The Washington Post, the Nashville Scene, and many more.
In a recent piece reflecting on the album’s influence and importance, Marissa Moss writes in Rolling Stone, “Ten years since its release, Simpson’s 2014 masterpiece Metamodern Sounds in Country Music continues to redefine what’s possible in Nashville,” and continues, “Metamodern is an album that shows how the best music can come when you’re respectful of the past but fearless about the future.”
His other albums include “High Top Mountain,” “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth,” “Sound & Fury,” “The Ballad of Dood and Juanita,” and more.
According to preview information on Spotify, Passage du Desir will be released via Simpson’s High Top Mountain Records with support from Thirty Tigers.
Simpson’s most recent record was 2021 The Ballad of Dood & Juanita (ND review). In an interview with Rolling Stone the same year, he described that album as the last in a five-album cycle and proclaimed it “the last Sturgill record.” Johnny Blue Skies, then, appears to be a new chapter. But also a continuation of Simpson’s career-long commitment to reinvention.
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