AUK says ” Brilliant News, Sturgill!”
Sturgill Simpson will make his long-awaited live return to the UK and Europe next year, under his new name Johnny Blue Skies and touring under the banner of the ‘Why Not?’ tour. This will be Simpson’s first foray to the UK since 2020 and includes London’s Eventim Apollo on 1st March before heading into Europe for an 11 date run concluding, appropriately, in Paris. Tickets go on general sale a week today (Friday 27th September) at 10am local time and will be available here. Presale starts at 10am local time on Wednesday 25th September. Fans can register to buy tickets here.
The tour announcement follows the release of “Passage Du Desir”, on Simpson’s own independent label, High Top Mountain Records, and on Because Music in France, the album is made up of 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. Simpson and his band – Kevin Black (bass), Robbie Crowell (keys), Laur Joamets (guitar) and Miles Miller (drums) – have been on the road across the US, including headline slots at Outside Lands and Austin City Limits Music Festival.
Since his debut, Simpson has released six 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”, 2021’s “The Ballad of Dood and Juanita” and this year’s “Passage Du Desir” —along with the 2020 projects, “Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.” Throughout his singular career, Simpson has pushed against the grain, 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. Listen to “Passage Du Desir” track, ‘Jupiter’s Faerie’ below.
Johnny Blue Skies UK & Ireland dates 2025:
23rd Feb – Limelight, BELFAST
24th Feb – Vicar Street, DUBLIN
26th Feb – Barrowland Ballroom, GLASGOW
27th Feb – Albert Hall, MANCHESTER
1st Mar – Eventim Apollo, LONDON
2nd Mar – Beacon, BRISTOL
Looks like he’s playing Bristol the same night and same venue (but different room) as Chuck Prophet