John Mayer & Keith Urban Profess Their Love for Sturgill Simpson
The Sturgill Simpson love continues to pour in from different sectors of the music world, and now extends to songwriter and guitarist John Mayer, who is apparently “jealous” of the Kentucky-born country music performer. Announced last week, Sturgill Simpson has officially become a major label artists, signing to Atlantic Records, but even before then he was beginning to gain the attention of the wider music world with his 2014 album Metamodern Sounds in Country Music.
“Sturgill Simpson is messing me up right now. Listening jealously,” John Mayer tweeted out on January 17th. Mayer is set to guest host the Late Late Show on CBS February 4th, 5th, and 6th as the network’s late night lineup gets revamped amidst the departure of David Letterman. The fact that Sturgill is now drawing attention from big time artists outside the country music world speaks to the breath of both his reach and appeal, even before he releases a record with a major label.
Sturgill Simpson is messing me up right now. Listening jealously.
John Mayer (@JohnMayer) January 18, 2015
And John Mayer wasn’t the only one singing the praises of Sturgill recently. One of his biggest fans in mainstream country has been Keith Urban, and in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, when asked about Sturgill, Urban said “He’s the best.”
In the context of who might play the annual Vince Gill and Keith Urban-organized “All 4 The Hall” fundraiser event for the Country Music Hall of Fame, Urban was quoted as saying, “We should just basically start with [Sturgill Simpson] and pick the theme based on him. He’s the best.”
This isn’t the first time Keith Urban has shared his appreciation for Sturgill. In the summer of 2014, Urban was on a big Sturgill Simpson kick, blaming fellow mainstream country star Jake Owen for turning him on to Sturgill. “The new record will knock your #%^$ in the dirt – SERIOUSLY.” And later, “Grab your partner, dim the lights, put on Sturgill Simpson’s ‘IT AIN’T ALL FLOWERS’ … trust me, you’re gonna need two cigarettes!!!”
Beyond all the promotional value of these high-profile endorsements, it makes one wonder what influence Sturgill Simpson might be cultivating with these huge stars. Who knows, a Sturgill Simpson song cut, or even a single off a big album could go a long way to keeping Sturgill stock in bacon and beans for a long time, or a big boost for authentic music in the mainstream.
January 21, 2015 @ 11:43 am
who the hell says “hipping me”
January 21, 2015 @ 12:01 pm
“who the hell says “hipping me”
………apparently Keith Urban . and that’s it .
January 21, 2015 @ 12:26 pm
Australian people.
January 23, 2015 @ 11:23 pm
No they don’t…..not used in the part of Oz where I live, I’ve never heard of it. And if Keith Urban uses the phrase, good reason to avoid I say!!
January 21, 2015 @ 11:49 am
I get a little shit eatin grin every time I look at the iTunes country chart and continuously see Metamodern in the top 10. ðŸ˜
January 21, 2015 @ 12:01 pm
Love it! Great to see great music, original content, and DIY music getting respect in the mainstream. Best of luck to Sturgill signing with a major label
January 21, 2015 @ 1:12 pm
If we recall, Sturgill himself lamented about the money he invested in this record. It was not a DIY. He invest time, money, and I concluded, people. DIY, no matter how well intended, does not sell records and are often, not good. Something that other underground artists needs to keep in mind.
January 21, 2015 @ 12:31 pm
I just don’t get it. The record is fine, but the hype? It’s good but it is not that great. I keep listening to it. For this type of music, I think Jamey Johnson is a much better songwriter and singer and Whitey Morgan is just as good. Very will marketed I think. To each his own, but I don’t recall every seeing something so hyped that just made me scratch my head like this.
January 21, 2015 @ 1:45 pm
” I just don”™t get it. The record is fine, but the hype? It”™s good but it is not that great. I keep listening to it. For this type of music, I think Jamey Johnson is a much better songwriter and singer and Whitey Morgan is just as good. Very will marketed I think. To each his own, but I don”™t recall every seeing something so hyped that just made me scratch my head like this ”
Amen to that, JF . I’m more than baffled by it —particularly in light of all of the other incredible stuff Trigger has brought to our attention here. I’ve accepted that I’m in the minority on this one
January 21, 2015 @ 3:56 pm
JF i can say i somewhat agreed with this until i saw sturgill open for jason isbell in oklahoma two weeks ago.
January 21, 2015 @ 4:06 pm
J. Johnson is a pop country artist at heart and his whole fake bad ass persona is off-putting and corny. It also comes across in his voice. Morgan is one dimensional and mostly a retro act. Simpson was smart enough to steer clear of the bearded macho “outlaw” shtick and incorporate new influences into his music. He’s more Marvin Gaye than Johnny Paycheck.
January 21, 2015 @ 4:15 pm
In what universe has Jamey Johnson not more than compensated for his few missteps on The Dollar and the Trace Adkins cuts?
I don’t really get what you want from him. If That Lonesome Song and The Guitar Song haven’t convinced you, then nothing will, and you’ll just have to live with being wrong about Jamey Johnson.
People can change. It happens all the damn time. If Jamey Johnson releases another “Rebelicious” or “Redneck Side of Me,” you’ll be able to kick back and say, “I knew it,” but until then, you’re just making noise to make yourself look different. Like I said, you’re simply wrong until he proves you right, which he hasn’t, and won’t.
January 21, 2015 @ 6:24 pm
Come on! That Lonsome Song and Guitar Song are as Country as it gets, to say that Jamey has a corny persona is ridiculous, I love both artists! They are so good for Real country music, but that is absolutely wrong about Jamey. He and Sturgill are our best chance at getting back some true music that we all want to hear on the radio! To say anything different about Jamey Johnson is stupid! And did you just compare Sturgill Simpson to Marvin Gaye? We are on different planets
January 22, 2015 @ 4:48 am
Dissing both Sturgill and JJ? In a time when Country music is over shadowed by utter garbage on the radio you are saying this, these two are perhaps 2 of the honest Country artists to rise above the underground. Not sure exactly what your definition of Country music is, but these 2 are worlds away from Marvin Gaye and Fake Outlaw. You must be thinking of Sam Hunt and Justin Moore.
January 25, 2015 @ 8:13 am
Every single Criticism gives him more Validation. If you trully don’t like him then quit speaking his name. If you haven’t seen him Live then you haven’t really heard his music PERIOD. he is geared for a live set and it is one of the best I’ve ever seen in any Genre.
January 25, 2015 @ 8:31 am
I’m assuming your comment was intended for someone else………..I was defending SS and JJ.
January 25, 2015 @ 10:31 am
Yes It was. Thanks for saying something.
January 23, 2015 @ 5:01 pm
and how was metamodern ‘very will marketed’?
January 21, 2015 @ 12:34 pm
I’m still trying to figure out why “Keith Urban” and “country music” are even remotely related and how in the hell they got that way.
January 21, 2015 @ 12:43 pm
He used to not be so bad. His first no. 1 “But For the Grace of God” had steel guitar as the main instrument. But then after “Your Everything” he stopped using it… He was brought up on real country and used to dress as Waylon as a kid, and has more respect for the genre than most of his contemporaries. It just became increasingly about him staying relevant.
January 21, 2015 @ 1:40 pm
Correction; “Your Everything” came before. “But for the Grace of God” had the most steel guitar he’s ever had, then he quit using it for the most part. I know steel guitar doesn’t make it country, but it’s hard to have a country voice when you’re from Australia. But he gave an honest attempt at staying true to the roots and progressing at the same time, he just recently got afraid of losing relevance and started making pure pop garbage. And seriously, his fundraiser for the Hall is not a PR thing, he really does value traditional country more than most of them do.
January 21, 2015 @ 1:23 pm
I am not sure I disagree with this comment. There is actually no song on this record that has stopped me in my tracks. I am hoping the next one will be different. So what makes this album different from other underground artist? Well the album is polished and all the songs are relatively pleasing to listen to. This is where it differs from other underground artist. With all the talk of underground artist and their fans not liking pretty, it turns out that we do. Definitely, myself included.
January 22, 2015 @ 1:49 am
This thread is exactly the wrong place to level such harsh criticism.
If you really like Sturgill Simpson and his music, then the correct response to Keith Urban is a simple “Thank you”.
The fact is that Keith Urban has a large fan base, and if even a fraction of them come to like Sturgill then it would represent a major victory.
January 22, 2015 @ 6:28 pm
Best I can tell, Keith Urban listens to good music. He just doesn’t know how to make it. Jake Owen also falls in this category.
January 23, 2015 @ 11:28 pm
Couldn’t agree more….Keith Urban makes me chunder
January 21, 2015 @ 12:43 pm
I would never have heard of Sturgill save for this site, and only recently did I succumb to curiosity about all the hype and attention that “metamodern” got and give it a listen.
1. I don’t get the Waylon comparison, at all.
2. I don’t get how anyone things “turtles” is anti-religious
3. good lord does he sing with a mouth full of cotton balls or is his diction just poor?
Yes, I liked it, but I just don’t comprehend.
January 22, 2015 @ 2:43 pm
I don’t take a huge issue with it-I don’t think religion is above criticism-but Turtles all the Way Down clearly states that religion is largely fabricated. “Don’t waste your time on nursery rhymes or fairy tales of blood and wine,” “that old and *fabled* book,” etc.
January 21, 2015 @ 1:12 pm
I am also listening to Sturgill jealously right now. But unfortunately I don’t have two cigarettes–what the hell does that even mean?
January 21, 2015 @ 1:18 pm
Yeah Metamodern was good but there was a lot of hype that I’m not to sure the album lived up too. IMO Hightop Mountain was a better album than Metamodern.
January 21, 2015 @ 3:28 pm
Agreed, High Top is the better album.
January 21, 2015 @ 3:45 pm
Thank you!!! Don’t get me wrong, I loved Metamodern Sounds, but Hightop Mountain just completely blew me away. It’s one of my all-time favorite albums.
I wish that Metamodern Sounds had more steel guitar in it, but even if it did, I still would have preferred Hightop Mountain. Again, I ain’t bashing Metamodern because I loved that album too.
January 21, 2015 @ 4:18 pm
My guess is that he wanted to record something that he could mostly perform live with him and 3 others. Adding a steel guitar turns into another band member, and then people want fiddle, maybe some banjo, and on and on and on.
He would need to take on a multi-instrumentalist for a guitar player, and having found Laur, why would he even consider it?
Anyway, that’s just my thoughts on the matter. I too would like to hear more steel guitar in his music, but if he wants to keep it simple live he’ll just have to do what he’s doing.
January 22, 2015 @ 2:31 am
To me, and I had the opportunity to tell Sturgill (he appreciated it and turned out to be a fan), “Metamodern” is to “High Top Mountain” what “The Bends” is to “Pablo Honey”.
As you see, I come from the Alternative angle (and Atlantic will be smart to direct Sturgill at our crowd to expand his fanbase). I’ve always liked a lot of Americana but Sturgill has last year been my gateway drug into this great world of Country that does not neccessarily need the “alt.” bit attached.
Now all I hope for is the third album to become his “OK Computer”
January 22, 2015 @ 10:33 am
I’m not sure I’m on board with your Radiohead comparison. Not because I don’t respect your opinion but because Radiohead is so difficult for some of us listeners to appreciate. The direction that Yorke took their music has never really gripped me (not to say I don’t think it’s better than the “Creep” days). All things considered, I think there’s a stripped down quality to Sturgill’s music that he simply cannot afford to lose. I know you aren’t saying that he should sound anything like Radiohead, but it’s a pretty tough comparison. Radiohead doesn’t have that “connect with anybody” quality that Sturgill has. He can’t lose that.
January 22, 2015 @ 3:13 am
Hightop mountain was one of those albums where I enjoyed every single song I listened too. Metamodern was close but some songs I just couldn’t seem to grasp. Also yeah some songs I couldn’t understand was sturgill was even saying, his voice was so muffled. I know he produced the album that way and it wasn’t an accident, I just dnot understand why.
January 21, 2015 @ 2:25 pm
I would like to know more… why is Mayer jealous, what is he jealous of. Unfortunately I can’t just call him up and ask. Maybe someone will ask him in an interview someday (seems unlikely)
January 21, 2015 @ 6:31 pm
He could have gotten a copy of Sunday Valley’s album. He could be jealous of Sturgill’s picking on the album.
January 21, 2015 @ 3:19 pm
I agree with Daniel that Hightop Mountain was better. Second, it’s just stuff like this that makes me want to like Keith Urban. I get the sense that he is genuine, amiable, and has good taste in music; yet, it seems that Keith’s appreciation of good music ends with his own.
January 21, 2015 @ 4:20 pm
Keith Urban is and always has been hit or miss. While I don’t particularly love “Cop Car” or “Somewhere in My Car,” I’ll take both over the watered down garbage of Defying Gravity.
Keith Urban went downhill when the focus on guitar was lost and he started trying to be more of a vocalist. He’s a sub-par vocalist. His guitar work is what has always made him worthwhile. At least with this newer record, there’s more of that. The solos might be short, but they’re sick and they fit the songs. And hell, listen to that little lick during the chorus of “Somewhere In My Car.” Fucking captivating.
I’d prefer him to go back to his earlier days, but I’ll take this new Keith Urban over Defying Gravity Keith Urban any day.
January 21, 2015 @ 4:47 pm
yur tryin 2 hard
January 21, 2015 @ 7:30 pm
Very cool. I don’t really care for music John Mayer’s music, but he seems like a decent guy. It was generous of him to give to Sturgill a public shoutout like this.
Also, speaking of Keith Urban, I always figured one way ol’ Sturg might make a splash among the mainstream country audience (if he cared to) might be by being invited to feature on a mainstream country song, or maybe asked to collaborate with a mainstream artist on an awards show. Zac Brown invited Dave Grohl to show up and play drums with him on the CMAs a couple years ago. I could easily see something similar happening with Sturgill. Just a thought.
January 21, 2015 @ 8:45 pm
Well, John Mayer proved he had horrible taste when he dated Swift. And Keith Urban is a Country music murderer, and an American Idol judge. So who cares what either one of them think?
Seriously Trig, are you just running out of stuff to write about? I’m actually hoping that Sturgill breaks your heart with his next album, just so you’ll shut the heck up about him.
January 22, 2015 @ 1:03 am
I’m already half expecting for Sturgill to break everyone’s heart with his next release, and have said as much on numerous occasions. Read my “Artist of the Year” piece. I talk at length about expectations and false notions.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/saving-country-musics-2014-artist-of-the-year
As for running out of stuff to write about, you should see my white board.
January 22, 2015 @ 1:54 am
Do you have anything substantive to say about John Mayer?
Perhaps you should join a tabloid, since you seem to love analyzing artists’ dating habits. Maybe work with Perez Hilton?
January 25, 2015 @ 2:08 pm
Seriously Clint WTF is your problem.
January 21, 2015 @ 9:34 pm
And just wait until all the, “I was there from the beginning and saw him when it was just six people in a bar including him fans” show up and go, “Where the hell have you all be been…” while looking at girls in Luke Bryan shirts, “Oh… yeah right.”
On a more serious note I think Sturgill could do volumes for music period. Not to put a giant weight on him but authentic music like his when it blows up tends to have a snowball effect as people latch onto what’s trendy and hip and when trendy and hip is authentic music that will reach across many genres not just country.
And with the return of Sleater-Kinney and a very received new album rock music may get back to being rock and not EDM as well. 2015 is going to be pretty sweet for music fans.
January 21, 2015 @ 10:03 pm
Three reasons why people love Sturgill:
1) He sounds like Waylon at times. Waylon is just about everyone’s definition of “real country”
2) He gets weird with arrangements and has drug references in songs, which appeals to rock fans.
3) Very aggressive guitar playing. A lot of the artists championed on this site have very refined and tasteful guitar parts but I don’t hear a lot of modern country — mainstream, red dirt, americana, whatever — where guitarists are really tearing it up. But hey, I love Brent Mason.
January 22, 2015 @ 3:06 am
Aggressive guitar playing is not a good thing in the context of country music. Country music instrumentation has traditionally sounded smooth, like Mediterranean music or 19th Century Romantic music, not hard and aggressive like a fast electric guitar.
One of the aspects of “Metamodern” that I actually liked was that it featured fewer redundant electric guitar solos than many of Sturgill’s songs from the Sunday Valley era and instead focused on a softer, more melodic sound.
January 24, 2015 @ 10:19 am
Ask Marty Stuart, Vince Gill and Steve Wariner if aggressive guitar playing is not a good thing in the context of country music. If I were a betting man and this was Vegas, I would bet they would disagree with you.
January 21, 2015 @ 10:35 pm
I’m not sure what constitutes a credible endorsement. David Byrne? Yes. These two? Not so much. It’s not like Urban can get Simpson on the A.I. stage; I’m sure Metamodern Sounds would be wasted on Mayer fan.
January 22, 2015 @ 4:50 am
Not at all… John Mayer does have a fanbase that extends beyond screaming fangirls. I adore Sturgill’s work and Mayer’s work equally. You should look into Mayer’s two most recent records, Born and Raised and Paradise Valley; they’re very good and to the taste of most of the SCM demographic I would imagine.
January 28, 2015 @ 7:59 pm
Would it b great to have an idol contestent do a Simpson original.