Day 13 - Sturgill Simpson

General Info

Members: Sturgill Simpson - lead vocals, guitar
Laur Joamets - electric and slide guitar
Kevin Black - bass guitar
Miles Miller - drums, harmony vocals


Biography: "Formerly the leader of Sunday Valley, an energetic roots outfit that made some waves in the early years of the new millennium, Sturgill Simpson gained greater renown as a solo artist, thanks in large part to his muscular 2013 solo debut High Top Mountain. An outlaw country record in form and feel -- its debt to Waylon Jennings clear and unashamed -- High Top Mountain became a word-of-mouth hit in 2013, thereby establishing Simpson's country credentials and opening the door to a wider future.

A native of Jackson, Kentucky raised near Lexington, Simpson has deep southern roots, but he moved out west once he reached his late teens. In 2004, he formed Sunday Valley, receiving a big break when they played Portland, Oregon's Pickathon Festival in 2011. Sturgill went solo in 2012, beginning work on the album that became High Top Mountain, which appeared the following year. After extensive touring, Simpson settled down in studio to concentrate on his next recording. He experimented with stretching the boundaries of his chosen genre, digging deep into topics like physics and evolution as evidenced by his pre-release single, "Turtles (All The Way Down)." The Dave Cobb-produced album, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, appeared in May of 2014." -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine (from allmusic.com)

Read more about Sturgill at NPR and Rolling Stone.

Major Discography:
Sounds Like
Genre: Country
Similar Artists: Waylon Jennings, Justin Townes Earle (per spotify).
Similar Bonnaroo Artists: SLAYER. Seriously though, nobody that I've heard on the lineup sounds quite like Sturgill. I guess the closest you will come is the other artists involved with the Bluegrass Situation tent.

Suggested Listening I prefer to post mostly live videos, since you'll be getting a live show on the farm. I am including some videos of Sturgill playing with his first band Sunday Valley, which gave him more opportunity to show off his guitar wankery skills.






Physical Reaction/Live Show
I have not had the opportunity to see Sturgill live, and chances are the first time I see him will be at Bonnaroo this year. If anyone has any personal experiences to share, please reply and tell us your story!

Interesting Facts/Trivia
- Sturgill's latest album, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, was nominated for the Americana Album of the Year at this year's Grammys. He didn't win, the award went instead to Roseanne Cash.
- Sturgill credits books like Dr. Richard Strassman's The Spirit Molecule and The Phenomenon of Man by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin as inspirations for his creative process.
- Spent three years in the Navy, including a stint in Japan. His other occupation outside of music included working at a railroad freight-shipping yard as a conductor, where he would, "switch the trains out and break 'em apart, consolidate the freight that was headed to similar destinations and build other trains." THE MAN BUILDS TRAINS, PEOPLE.
- Sturgill identifies bands like Tool and Queens of the Stone Age among some of his favorite rock shows from his younger days.

Personal Notes
I heard a song on the radio shortly after I moved to Asheville that really grabbed my attention. The singer's vocal technique intrigued me and after hearing it I'd try to listen in the car as much as possible in case the station should play him again and tell me who he was. When they finally played it I learned it was Sturgill Simpson, and that song (Long White Line) would be on a new album coming out soon. When Metamodern Sounds in Country Music was released a few months later it became a quick favorite of mine as well my roommates and several friends. I was drawn to his bellowing voice and the musicality of his band, but I was most impressed with his clever and sometimes philosophical lyrical content. Throw in a friend of mine who had met him was able to introduce me to his early band Sunday Valley, and I wound up firmly on the Sturgill Simpson train.

I'm excited for Sturgill's set as well as his potential involvement with the Bluegrass Situation Superjam. I'm guessing he winds up with a mid-afternoon spot on Sunday, so it will be nice to start closing out this year's Roo with a show I've been excited about for a while. This one is a must see for me, conflicts be damned.