Sturgill Simpson at Farm Aid 2023 (photo by Mary Andrews)
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Sturgill Simpson, but it appears that’s about to change.
On Wednesday morning, his website touted a new album, Passage du Desir, coming July 12. The artist name is Johnny Blue Skies.
That name might ring a bell to anyone who attended the Stagecoach festival in late April. A billboard outside the California festival grounds proclaimed “Beware the dread pirate Johnny Blue Skies” and pointed to johnnyblueskies.com. That website redirects to Simpson’s homepage.
Helpfully (kinda), Simpson’s website offers a three-question FAQ page to clear things up. “Is Johnny Blue Skies Sturgill Simpson?” The answer: Yes.
The updated website also announces an extensive “Why Not?” tour starting with an appearance at San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival in August. From there, there are tour dates listed all over the US and Canada through late November. Another “Yes” from the FAQ: “Will Sturgill be playing music from his entire catalog on the ‘Why Not?’ tour?” The shows are touted as “An evening with Sturgill Simpson, featuring very special guest Johnny Blue Skies.”
Passage du Desir album cover
Simpson hasn’t commented on the album via social media or in the press as of this writing, and no songs have been released. Here’s a preview of the Passage du Desir track list from Spotify:
- Swamp of Sadness
- If the Sun Never Rises Again
- Scooter Blues
- Jupiter’s Faerie
- Who I Am
- Right Kind of Dream
- Mint Tea
- One for the Road
According to preview information on Spotify, Passage du Desir will be released via Simpson’s High Top Mountain Records with support from Thirty Tigers.
Last month, Simpson released a reissue of his landmark 2014 album Metamodern Sounds in Country Music to celebrate its 10th anniversary. His “Why Not?” tour will reunite him with that album’s backing band, bassist Kevin Black, guitarist Laur Joamets, and drummer Miles Miller, according to his website.
Simpson’s most recent new 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.
