On Friday night, Sturgill Simpson delivered a stirring, jam session-filled country-rock show in Nashville for nearly three and a half hours. Throughout that time, Bridgestone Arena’s very sold-out crowd underwent a religious experience.
Alongside his band members Kevin Black on bass, Laur Joamets on guitar, Miles Miller on drums and Robbie Crowell on the keys, Simpson pulled tunes from his entire catalog over the course of the show, jamming continuously from one song to the next.
What resulted was music magic, a totally unique concert that will only live once inside of Bridgestone’s walls.
The 46-year-old country singer stopped in Nashville on his “Why Not? Tour,” a 30-date U.S. tour he announced in June that kicked off in August at Outside Lands festival in San Francisco.
This particular tour run is historic for a number of reasons.
Early in his career, Simpson famously said he’d only ever release five albums under his real name.
This year, he switched to the moniker Johnny Blue Skies and released his first album, “Passade Du Desir” under the name in July. The debut was released through Simpson’s independent label, High Top Mountain Records, and produced with David Ferguson at Nashville’s Clement House Recording Studio and Abbey Road Studios in London.