When Sturgill Simpson released The Ballad of Dood & Juanita back in 2021, he told Rolling Stone that it would be the last Sturgill Simpson record: "I always said there would be five, and I wondered if I'd go back on that."
Today, he's back with news of a new album — but under a new alias, so he's sticking to his word. Simpson is introducing us to Johnny Blue Skies, whose first album, Passage du Desir, will be released on July 12 through the Kentucky singer-songwriter's own Mountain High Top Records.
Recorded between Nashville's Clement House Recording Studio and London's Abbey Road Studios, Simpson (as Johnny Blue Skies) produced the album with David Ferguson. As Pitchfork points out, although this is the first Johnny Blue Skies album, Simpson debuted the moniker last year in a collaboration with Diplo and Dove Cameron, "Use Me (Brutal Hearts)."
Simpson and touring bandmates Kevin Black, Robbie Crowell, Laur Joamets and Miles Miller will embark on the Why Not? Tour starting with a festival gig at San Francisco's Outside Lands in August before the North American run proper begins on September 14 in Los Angeles, CA. They'll make a single venture into Canada, with back-to-back nights at Toronto's Massey Hall being the tour's penultimate shows on November 21 and 22.
Find the full tour itinerary, as well as the album tracklist details, below.
Passage du Desir:
1. Swamp of Sadness
2. If the Sun Never Rises Again
3. Scooter Blues
4. Jupiter's Faerie
5. Who I Am
6. Right Kind of Dream
7. Mint Tea
8. One for the Road
Sturgill Simpson 2024 Tour Dates:
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 Asheville, NC - Harrah's Cherokee Center
10/21 Cary, 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, ON - Massey Hall
11/21 Toronto, ON - Massey Hall
11/23 Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway
* with Lord Huron