Promoting The Ballad of Dood & Juanita in 2021, Sturgill Simpson emphasized that he wanted to release only five albums of original material. “This is the last Sturgill record,” he told Marissa R. Moss for Rolling Stone. “I always said there would be five, and I wondered if I’d go back on that.”
Well, Simpson has found a way to stay true to his word and release a new album. The Kentucky-born singer-songwriter is introducing a new alias: Johnny Blue Skies. The first Johnny Blue Skies album, Passage du Desir, is out July 12, via Simpson’s High Top Mountain Records. Simpson, as Johnny Blue Skies, produced his new album with David Ferguson. He recorded the album at Nashville’s Clement House Recording Studio and London’s Abbey Road Studios.
It’s worth noting that, while Passage du Desir is the first full-length Johnny Blue Skies album, Simpson tested out the moniker last year on a song with Diplo and Dove Cameron, “Use Me (Brutal Hearts).”
The Ballad of Dood & Juanita was Simpson’s fifth album, following 2013’s High Top Mountain, 2014’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, 2016’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, and 2019’s Sound & Fury. In addition, in 2020, Simpson released two Cuttin’ Grass albums featuring bluegrass renditions of his older songs.
Along with the new album, Simpson has announced the Why Not? Tour. His touring bandmates are bassist Kevin Black, keyboardist Robbie Crowell, guitarist Laur Joamets, and drummer Miles Miller. See the tour dates below.
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Passage du Desir:
01 Swamp of Sadness
02 If the Sun Never Rises Again
03 Scooter Blues
04 Jupiter’s Faerie
05 Who I Am
06 Right Kind of Dream
07 Mint Tea
08 One for the Road
Sturgill Simpson:
08-11 San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands
09-14 Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
09-15 Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
09-17 West Valley City, UT – Maverik Center
09-19 Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater
09-20 Quincy, WA – Gorge Amphitheatre *
09-22 Bonner, MT – KettleHouse Amphitheater
09-24 Moorhead, MN – Bluestem Center for the Arts
09-25 Minneapolis, MN – Roy Wilkins Auditorium
09-27 Lexington, KY – Rupp Arena
09-28 Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
10-01 Chicago, IL – Salt Shed
10-02 Chicago, IL – Salt Shed
10-04 Brandon, MS – Brandon Amphitheater
10-06 Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Music Festival
10-08 Oklahoma City, OK – Criterion
10-09 Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
10-13 Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Music Festival
10-15 St. Louis, MO – Fabulous Fox Theatre
10-18 Pittsburgh, PA – Petersen Events Center
10-19 Forest Hills, NY – Forest Hills Stadium
10-21 Asheville, NC – ExploreAsheville.com Arena
10-22Cary, NC – Koka Booth Amphitheatre
10-24 Duluth, GA – Gas South Arena
10-25 Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
11-12 Philadelphia, PA – The Met
11-15 Hampton, VA – Hampton Coliseum
11-18 Washington, D.C. – The Anthem
11-20 Toronto, Ontario – Massey Hall
11-21 Toronto, Ontario – Massey Hall
11-23 Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway
* with Lord Huron
