STURGILL SIMPSON ADDS SHOWS IN HUNTSVILLE, AL AND HUNTINGTON, WV TO EXTENSIVE “WHY NOT? TOUR”  

NEW JOHNNY BLUE SKIES ALBUM PASSAGE DU DESIR
OUT JULY 12

 
photo credit: Semi Song // tour poster

Story: Ralph Greco, Jr.

Due to incredible demand, Sturgill Simpson has added two new stops to his fall “Why Not? Tour”—Huntsville, AL’s The Orion Amphitheater on October 11 and Huntington, WV’s Health Network Arena on November 16. These two new “An Evening with Sturgill Simpson” concerts will be available for artist pre-sale beginning Thursday, June 20 at 10:00am local time (code: STURGILL2024) with general on-sale Friday, June 21 at 10:00am local time.

Simpson’s first full tour in over four years, the extensive headline run will feature Simpson and his band—Kevin Black (bass), Robbie Crowell (keys), Laur Joamets (guitar) and Miles Miller (drums)—and includes immediately sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Chicago (two nights), Oklahoma City, Asheville, Cary and Washington, DC among many others. All other tickets are now on-sale via sturgillsimpsonlive.com. See below for complete tour itinerary.

Of note, the “Why Not? Tour” has opted out of using dynamic ticket pricing with the intention of doing everything in their power to keep tickets in the hands of fans and out of the hands of scalpers. They are vetting pre-sale sign ups for bad actors, implementing Face Value Exchange (which is now live, FAQ here) and limited platinum ticketing to combat scalpers and out of control prices.

After promising to release only five studio albums under his own name, Simpson marks the beginning of a new era with Johnny Blue Skies and the release of Passage Du Desir. Out July 12 on his own independent label, High Top Mountain Records (pre-order), the album includes eight songs produced by Johnny Blue Skies and David Ferguson and recorded at Clement House Recording Studio in Nashville, TN and Abbey Road Studios in London, England.

The new album follows the tenth anniversary reissue of Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, which came out last month. Originally released May 13, 2014, the album marked a career breakthrough for Simpson personally and proved to be a seismic shift-maker within the larger country music genre. The new special edition features a fully reimagined album cover and vinyl package, pressed on 180g Black Vinyl with an “Old-Style” Tip-On Jacket. Ushering in a new chapter within country music and 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. 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.”

Since his debut, Simpson has released five full-length studio albums—2013’s High Top Mountain, 2014’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, 2016’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, 2019’s Sound & Fury and 2021’s The Ballad of Dood and Juanita—along with the 2020 projects, Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Throughout his singular career, Simpson has relentless pushed against expectations, earning widespread acclaim and countless accolades including a Grammy Award in 2017 for Best Country Album and six Grammy nominations across four genres: country, rock, bluegrass and americana.

In addition to his work as a musician, Simpson has acted in film and television, including roles in The Dead Don’t Die, Queen & Slim, Killers of the Flower Moon and The Righteous Gemstones.

August 9-11—San Francisco, CA—Outside Lands

September 14—Los Angeles, CA—The Greek Theatre* (SOLD OUT)

September 15—Santa Barbara, CA—Santa Barbara Bowl* (SOLD OUT)

September 17—West Valley City, UT—Maverik Center*

September 19—Bend, OR—Hayden Homes Amphitheater*

September 20—George, WA—The Gorge Amphitheatre†

September 22—Missoula, MT—KettleHouse Amphitheater*

September 24—Moorhead, MN—Bluestem Center for the Arts Amphitheater*

September 25—Minneapolis, MN—Roy Wilkins Auditorium*

September 27—Lexington, KY—Rupp Arena*

September 28—Detroit, MI—Fox Theatre*

October 1—Chicago, IL—Salt Shed* (SOLD OUT)

October 2—Chicago, IL—Salt Shed* (SOLD OUT)

October 4—Brandon, MS—The Brandon Amphitheater*

October 4-6—Austin, TX—Austin City Limits Music Festival

October 8—Oklahoma City, OK—Criterion* (SOLD OUT)

October 9—Rogers, AR—Walmart AMP*

October 11-13—Austin, TX—Austin City Limits Music Festival

October 15—St. Louis, MO—Fabulous Fox Theatre*

October 16—St. Louis, MO—Fabulous Fox Theatre*

October 18—Pittsburgh, PA—Petersen Events Center*

October 19—Forest Hills, NY—Forest Hills Stadium‡

October 21—Asheville, NC—ExploreAsheville.com Arena* (SOLD OUT)

October 22—Cary, NC—Koka Booth Amphitheatre* (SOLD OUT)

October 24—Duluth, GA—Gas South Arena*

October 25—Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena*

November 12—Philadelphia, PA—The Met*

November 13—Philadelphia, PA—The Met*

November 15—Hampton, VA—Hampton Coliseum*

November 18—Washington, DC—The Anthem* (SOLD OUT)

November 20—Toronto, ON—Massey Hall*

November 21—Toronto, ON—Massey Hall*

November 23—Boston, MA—MGM Music Hall at Fenway*

November 24—Boston, MA—MGM Music Hall at Fenway*