Saving Country Music’s 2014 Artist of the Year
This isn’t going to be some long form praising of Sturgill Simpson’s work in 2014, or yet another rundown of his long list of successes last year. There’s already been plenty of that, arguably too much of it, and I am just as tired of writing about it as you are of reading of it. Yeah yeah, Sturgill Simpson’s great, but his name has become the independent country version of click bait. Music media outlets have sniffed out how hot product he is, and next thing you know he can’t make a bowel movement without someone writing about it, and then reaching out to him for a repost.
No wonder he deleted his Twitter account, and ponders quitting the whole business upon occasion, or putting limitations on his output. It’s great that his music has received so much attention, but it’s the job of fans, media, and even detractors to understand the style of human being their dealing with, and show a little respect for his idiosyncratic nature and privacy. That’s why through much of 2014, Saving Country Music enacted a moratorium on Sturgill Simpson coverage to only be broken for essential news. It’s gotten so out of hand, it makes me sick even having to cue up yet another blank space and peck away towards his praise, but someone has to win this stupid award, and Lord knows Sturgill deserves it.
But this isn’t going to be as much about praising Sturgill Simpson as asking for a little bit of perspective from us all. Sturgill Simpson’s job is to play music, not to save the world, or to save country, and it’s not fair of us to foist our dreams and desires on an artist who already seems a little unsure of standing in front of people and asking to command their attention. The everyman vibe from Sturgill is one of the things that makes him such a lovable character, and instills his music with an authenticity most musicians can only attempt to interpret into their persona.
Some have accused Saving Country Music of unfairly lumping all the woes of country on Sturgill’s back, with an emphatic “Sturgill Simpson isn’t saving country music!” coming from a number of high profile outlets in 2014, as if since this site has been a proponent of Sturgill and its name is such, then these parallels are fair to draw when in truth this site has gone out of its way to if anything relinquish that burden from Sturgill that some well-minded but naive souls may place upon him.
Saving Country Music’s work for Sturgill Simpson has been done for the better part of a year, except for maybe trying to offer some counterbalancing and perspective. I know my place, and though Saving Country Music’s feisty little bullhorn may be fierce, Sturgill’s name is too far flung at this point to influence any eventual outcomes in a material manner. It’s time to move on to the pursuit of the next Sturgill Simpson, to unearth the Karen Jonas’s, the Tami Neilson’s, the Spencer Cornett’s and Possessed by Paul James’s. Because artists who are struggling need support, but artists that are launched support themselves, and help support others.
At the same time, Sturgill Simpson may need some perspective too, and to understand he now has responsibilities beyond himself. The reason that Sturgill Simpson has awakened something special in so many listeners in 2014 is because people want to believe in something, in an artist that is like them, that they can relate to: independent-minded, respectful of the roots of the music, but that is actually successful, and is successful on his own name, from his own sweat and talent, and that holds a hope and promise for the future. Since so few among us are graced with the opportunity to live out the fantasy of becoming a music star, the rest of us tend to live this dream out vicariously through our musical heroes. That is why we cherish them so much, and celebrate their victories as victories of our own.
But independent country fans have been at this brink before, following artists that look like they could really bust out into something big, something beyond the humble independent musicscape, only then to witness their great vessel of hope seemingly train wreck the opportunity. These artists climb nine rungs up a ten rung ladder, and then for whatever reason, maybe because they’re afraid of success, maybe because they feel too foreign to what the public perceives them as, or maybe from some silly notion that self-destruction is noble or creative, they screw it all up, many times on purpose.
I’ve seen this happen so many times with these independent successes, you begin to wonder if it’s fate. Hank Williams III in 2008, when it felt like he was on the brink of turning country music inside out, Justin Townes Earle when he decided to destroy a dressing room in Indianapolis, Ryan Adams burning bridges and purposely offending people as a self-ingratiating medium for expression, and so on and so forth. For some of these artists, sobriety of the mind in one form or another comes too late, and that magical uplifting momentum leaves them in this middling ground, stalled out, mired in sameness and detached from their appetite; a shell of their previous creative self and relegated to bad self-impersonations affording mere glimmers of their previous creative brilliance.
Sturgill Simpson may think it’s selfish to want to be famous or successful in music, or that it’s an enterprise of the ego. But at this point, it would be selfish of Sturgill to not pursue whatever successes the music may bestow him. I’m not talking about the fame, money, or awards, but where all of these things lead. This thing is now bigger than Sturgill Simpson, or anyone. Who knows the forces at play that pick one among us out of the choir to sing solo, but they’re beyond our comprehensive capacities, and are best not to second guess.
I don’t want to hear about Sturgill Simpson only making a few more albums before he quits as he told Joe Rogan, or purposefully not pursuing the full exploration of his talents because he’s afraid it may come across as egotistical. I don’t want to hear about any limitations imposed on his creative trajectory, I want to hear how all obstacles have been removed. If Sturgill Simpson’s desire is to only make five albums, then excellent, so be it. But if that leaves even one song left unheard that is buried deep in the Sturgill Simpson psyche, slowly being molded into a diamond, then we all lose, most especially Sturgill Simpson.
Talent and relevancy the likes that Sturgill finds himself amidst are too rare to be flippant with. When they bestow you with grace, it is your duty to exploit them and see them to their bitter end, because for every man whose endowed with such opportunities, there’s 10,000 who wish they were. Not pursuing those opportunities, that is selfishness and egotism.
Sturgill Simpson’s next album will be the most important of his career. He’s reached the pinnacle of independent roots music, so now the question will be if he’ll plateau, or break through. Will he purposefully offend people simply to not allow himself to be wrongfully pigeon-holed, or will he boldly mine his own original creative expression, be damned if people are offended or not? Will he understand that country music is bigger than any one artist, and there’s a responsibility to the music we all as country music lovers must behold?
Things will not always be as rosy as they are for Sturgill Simpson right now. There will be setbacks, and missteps, and second guesses, because that’s the way of things. We are in the midst of the Sturgill Simpson glory days, and the only question is how long will this era last until it eventually dissipates, as all the great eras and artists in music invariably do.
But let’s not inadvertently stimulate an early onset of this sun-setting of an era by smothering Sturgill Simpson, either with our praise, attention, expectations, perceived obligations, selfish desires as fans, or shallow perceptions of him as a Waylon impersonator or leftist ideologue. It is our job as fans to support our favorite artists, even when they don’t deliver exactly up to expectations, or leave us in the lurch to refocus on life and family. Because at one point they touched us and brought us such joy and fulfillment that it changed our lives. And for Sturgill Simpson, that moment was two thousand and fourteen.
January 7, 2015 @ 9:57 am
And for anyone who says this pick is “predictable,” you can kiss my ass. 🙂
January 7, 2015 @ 10:12 am
Actually, it’s wildly unpredictable! Normally, the album of the year winner is out the running for this. I was expecting Karen Jonas or Tami Neilson.
OK. Going to read the article now.
January 7, 2015 @ 10:33 am
Yeah its predictable, but I don’t think that the title belongs to anyone else. Even someone that’s he’s praised all year like Karen Jonas. She hasn’t done the same amount of touring or TV appearances or had a huge album like Sturgill has. As talented as she probably id, her impact on country music, or music in general hasn’t quite measured up.
It’s true. I am kind of sick of reading a year in review about Sturgill, because I’ve been reading it from the beginning. But do I think he is artist of the year. No doubt about it
January 7, 2015 @ 10:44 am
You miss my point. Since I’ve been a reader of this site (2010), the same person/group has never won both album of the year and artist of the year. That was Trigger’s policy, as far as I could tell. Kind of a share the wealth thing. So, I absolutely did NOT expect this. Given the special circmstances, it does make sense, though.
January 7, 2015 @ 3:13 pm
Just one more point about Karen Jonas. I DO think she had a huge album from a musical standpoint . I do not think that Sturgill’s album outclases Oklahoma Lottery. They are both great albums. I thought (hoped?) Trigger might give her the artist of the year nod, as he has given it in the past to an artist other than the album of the year winner and I just assumed that he would do the same this year. But, given his meteoric rise this year, I can see how naming Sturgill again makes sense.
January 7, 2015 @ 8:19 pm
Yes, the Album of the Year is specific to a particular album’s artistic performance and impact, and Artist of the Year is specific to an artists artistic performance and impact. I love Karen Jonas’s album, but I thought Sturgill’s had a bigger impact. Same with Sturgill as an artist over Karen. Karen’s future is very, very bright, and she has tremendous upside potential. She’ll get her chance again I sense.
I agree that splitting these distinctions could help expose another artist, while giving them to Sturgill doesn’t really help him at all because he’s getting so much other press. That was one of the unfortunate things of making these picks. But that’s where I have to make the pick I believe is right in my heart as opposed to making it a vehicle for marketing an artist.
January 8, 2015 @ 9:09 am
I love Karen Jonas”™s album, but I thought Sturgill”™s had a bigger impact.
No question. And that’s why if you had picked any other album for album of the year, I would have thought you were being contrarian. I was just genuinely surprised when you picked him again, based on what you’ve done in the past. That doesn’t mean I object to this choice. I do think Sturgill Simpson is the clear artist of the year in all of roots music the way I think Jason Isbell was last year.
January 7, 2015 @ 10:29 am
THANK YOU for saying it YOURSELF!
January 7, 2015 @ 10:56 am
Yeah it’s predictable but who cares.
January 7, 2015 @ 12:09 pm
It’s predictable because it’s the obvious choice and anyone who would pick somebody else is trying way too hard to be different.
January 7, 2015 @ 5:42 pm
🙂 Trigger, of course Sturgil is SCM artist of the year. Wow Trigger, what an amazing article this was. Let us pray that he stays focus, and always be true to his roots. I do have a greater anticipation for his next record than I did for his 2014 record. Between Sturgil and Jamey coming back, I’d say things are looking up for traditional country music.
January 7, 2015 @ 9:21 pm
Trigger,
I’ll make you a deal. I’ll kiss yours, if you stop kissing Sturgill’s.
Only in this miserable music age, could a tribute act win an artist of the year award. If there’s really nobody else to give these “awards” to, then you really ought to stop handing them out. You’re doing a disservice to Country music and it’s fans, along with losing credibility as a music critic, by giving them to this dude.
This is not only predictable in a bad way, it’s pitifully desperate.
January 12, 2015 @ 6:08 pm
Clint I challenged you personally to go see Sturgill live to make your opinion. I even offered to pay for you to go. You declined. gave some lame ass excuse. So you disagree. WOW big fucking surprise there. But you are uninformed, unwilling to go and get a real feel for his music. They are a LIVE band for fuck sake. And they have gotten better Ten fold since I told you I would pay for you to go. You have a right to your Opinion. Your just a broken record. Pretty sure Trig has been doing articles about Sturgill for at least a week or two by this point. And I’m almost certain he was one of the only writers that gave an honest review of MMSCM. what the fuck have you done?
January 9, 2015 @ 8:49 pm
Trig that was fucking Perfect. That deserves a “BAM”
January 7, 2015 @ 10:11 am
His announced appearances at Coachella and the Governor’s Ball are pretty interesting developments in the indie world.
Here’s hoping he ignores the crossover potential and stays true to the country style that won him those fans in the first place. In other words, don’t become Ryan Adams, Sturgill.
January 7, 2015 @ 1:22 pm
Taking the indie fest route is a smart move for Sturgill because that’s where he’s going to find the biggest concentration of new fans receptive to his music.
January 7, 2015 @ 1:25 pm
Oh, I totally agree. I just don’t want him to think he needs to suit his sound to that audience, like so many artists have before him in various genres. They are coming to him because of that sound, not because they hope he becomes more like the other bands they listen to.
January 7, 2015 @ 10:24 am
Very well said, thanks for this.
January 7, 2015 @ 10:55 am
Thinking nationally I don’t know who else could be named. I love SS, had the great pleasure to see him live in early December, he’s terrific live. But…. there are local “old school” country artists who are young and can “bring it” live too. We all need to go see and support the local artists working hard to hone their craft, wherever you reside.
January 7, 2015 @ 11:07 am
I take your point on the No Depression tweet, but I think it’s pretty damn cool and even a little astounding that MMSICM finished first in the ND reader’s poll. For me personally, only the SCM Album of the Year means more to me as a roots music fan. I couldn’t give a shit what USA Today or other mainstream media entities think the best albums of the year were. About 300 ND comunity members voted and second and third went to heavy hitters Rosanne Cash and Lucinda WIlliams. (For the record, I had Sturgill at #3 behind Drive By Truckers’ English Oceans and Chuck Prophet’s Night Surfer, with Karen Jonas’s Oklahoma Lottery at #4). Sturgill’s High Top Mountain finished in the 30’s in the 2013 ND reader’s poll, so he wasn’t a complete unknown to the ND community.
January 7, 2015 @ 1:14 pm
I didn’t mean to pick on No Depression. There’s a lot of great work being done over there. There were probably a dozen or so tweets I could have pulled out to illustrate my point, and theirs just seemed to do it best. I’m glad he was recognized by the No Depression poll, but I feel like it’s up to the artist’s discretion of whether they post or repost accolades such as that instead of being goaded into it by outlets looking for clicks. We’re all looking for clicks, that’s the name of the online business, and eventually Sturgill did mention it on Twitter…right before deleting his account. My overall point was to understand that Sturgill is one who shies away such accolades, and making him feel guilty for not sharing them may not be the best strategy of engagement.
January 7, 2015 @ 1:37 pm
Oh, I think you have a good point about that tweet. The No Depression site is under new ownership (FreshGrass) and they have been candid in expressing to the community that increasing traffic to the site was one of their initial priorities. I think the tweet is a little tacky myself (prolly? Jeez.). Better to just congratulate him. But they’re also doing some good things over there, like paying for the type of extended pieces that used to be in the old print magazine.
January 7, 2015 @ 8:24 pm
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to increase a site’s traffic. People want to give hell to sites for worrying too much about it, but it’s our jobs to try to get as much traffic to our content as possible. Of course Saving Country Music and No Depression could cover things that more people would want to read, but then we’d lose our integrity. But once you make content that you believe is credible and important, you job is to try to get it in front of as many people as possible.
It’s good No Depression is starting to feature some more professional content. They have a legacy name in music journalism that in my opinion has been going under-utilized. The community content is great, but it just wasn’t competing in what is becoming an increasingly crowded marketplace that needs more in-depth content.
January 7, 2015 @ 11:19 am
I worry a bit for Sturgill, too. Saw him live in late November, and although the show was really good, he seemed a little embarrassed by the crowd, tired of the road, and eager to get on to the next city. He was biting off the end of his lyrics, the way that a singer does when he’s gotten weary of reciting the same thing over and over.
Keep your mental health, Sturgill. Take your time, and we’ll all be here to listen to whatever you create next.
January 7, 2015 @ 11:56 am
Ever think that Sturgill gets tired of blogs that seem to suggest maybe he can’t handle all the success and we hope he isn’t to turned off by it?
One thing I’ve learned about artists like Sturgill, the independent/free thinkers, is that they are much smarter than the cover of the book. I’m not saying Sturgill is putting on some “aw shucks” act, but I believe for the most part, he knows his appeal and enjoys that. Not in a negative way, but he knows making music is a hell of a lot better than digging ditches to provide for your family. He probably is genuinely tired of the road some nights because he has a newborn at home he isn’t with.
But I have no doubt he is doing what he loves and will continue it. His sharp wit and banter about the industry only adds to the momentum going right now. He’s a smart guy, an aware guy. He has fun with this too and I’m sure likes to add to the mystique some.
Great choice. Looking forward to Sturgill’s future music.
January 7, 2015 @ 12:00 pm
If not Sturgill Simpson then who? So deserved really. Maybe the most important country artist of the last decade or more.
And I love that he doesn’t have a Twitter account. I see him as someone who is in it for the music not some mindless egotistcal need for constant attention. There are many artists whose work I have appreciated and at some point been turned off to some part of them because they just didn’t where to draw the line.
January 7, 2015 @ 12:15 pm
Well, I for one am not surprised, I coulda told you this one but I regress.
He definitely isn’t my artist of the year so y’all can have him.
Weird Al has got to be my pick this year.
January 7, 2015 @ 1:18 pm
I wouldn’t argue against a pick for Weird Al. He actually had arguably the best year of his career and I really enjoyed his album. Wouldn’t be appropriate for a country site though….unless he puts out a country parody record (here’s hoping).
January 7, 2015 @ 3:21 pm
Oh great you just gave me a visual of him doing a collab with Cledus T Judd
January 7, 2015 @ 12:44 pm
You made the right choice Trigger. I see your article as Sturgill’s high school graduation speech. You supported him all through the grammer school years and now its time to go out into the world and make it on his own. All his fans will take it from here. You go find us another graduate!
January 7, 2015 @ 4:40 pm
Thank you.
January 7, 2015 @ 7:39 pm
As far as I am concerned, Trigger, you win Writer of the Year for composing such a beautiful article.
I truly appreciate how you can sometimes use the ideal combination of empathy and logical reasoning to cut to the cut right to the heart of the matter, more than any other music writer that I know of. Articles like this are exactly why SCM is worth reading.
January 8, 2015 @ 12:49 am
Thanks Eric.
January 7, 2015 @ 7:43 pm
Regarding Sturgill’s future prospects, I would say that the important distinction between him and all of the other artists that fizzed out is his jovial and well-balanced personality. He does not possess the anger of Hank III or Ryan Adams or (as far as I know) the depression/substance issues of Justin Townes Earle.
What Sturgill demands more than anything else is creative freedom. Ironically, of all the major labels, I think he would flourish the most on Big Machine.
January 7, 2015 @ 9:37 pm
That would be truly bizarre. Like Jesus shaking hands with the Devil. Sturgill Simpson would be part of the machine that he was fighting against. Would this be a triumph for independent country/roots, or the death of it?
January 7, 2015 @ 11:25 pm
Is Sturgill Simpson really fighting against any “machine”, or does his interest lie solely in musical expression?
I think that one of the points of Trigger’s article is that the latter is far more true than the former. This is also reinforced in the interview that he gave to Rolling Stone Magazine back in June where he criticized the harsh attitudes of traditional country websites toward mainstream country artists:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/is-sturgill-simpson-country-musics-savior-not-if-he-can-help-it-20140603
“I understand there’s a lot of frustration, but I just think there is so much negativity as it is.”
“Brutal. Brutal, man,” “These people [being singled out], whether you like their music or not, they’re human beings. And you know they see that shit.”
This is what differentiates Sturgill from previous underground country heroes like Hank III. Sturgill simply does not have the type of war mentality against mainstream country that people like Hank III have, and I think that this factor will make Sturgill much more effective in actually infiltrating popular country and shifting it in a positive direction.
January 8, 2015 @ 1:19 am
Be careful Eric, I sited the VERY SAME ARTICLE just a few days ago and “Trigger” gave me shit about it, acting like I had just read it for the first time a week ago.
I also find it very interesting that Sturgill critizied “traditional country websites” towards mainstream country artists. I honestly feel THIS website IS the most brutal and critical of today’s mainstream country music and in my opinion, Sturgill could very easily have been referring to this very website.
Now “Trigger”, before you get your panties in a wad, this is my opinion. I don’t have any thing to back that opinion up other than this fact: THERE IS NOT A SINGLE CRITIC WEBSITE WHICH HANDS OUT SUCH BLATANT DISDAIN/CONTEMPT FOR TODAY’S MAINSTREAM COUNTRY MUSIC OTHER THAN SAVING COUNTRY MUSIC!!! This is a FACT! There is no way on God’s green earth you can argue this! You will fire back at me that you are ” just being honest” and “it’s my website, I can say whatever I want”. But, it still will not change that fact!
I find it VERY interesting that Sturgill says this in an interview with a publication which predominantly covers very little “country” music earlier this year and then at the end of the year is named by “Trigger” the best album AND artist of the year! Just something to think about.
January 8, 2015 @ 1:31 am
It’s because you were using the article to attack me as opposed to entering it into the conversation like Eric just did. I think there’s a good chance Sturgill was referring to Saving Country Music too, and I think there’s even a better chance that he made a very valid point that I have taken to heart, and others should as well.
“THERE IS NOT A SINGLE CRITIC WEBSITE WHICH HANDS OUT SUCH BLATANT DISDAIN/CONTEMPT FOR TODAY”™S MAINSTREAM COUNTRY MUSIC OTHER THAN SAVING COUNTRY MUSIC!!!”
Actually there is another one that makes Saving Country Music look like the house organ of Music Row. It resides solely on Facebook, but they regularly attack this site as being too soft to downright treacherous against their hardline stances. A few months ago they shut down all of my Facebook properties by bulk reporting me. They also love to plaster Sturgill’s face all over their meme’s of questionable moralistic quality. It’s called We Hate Pop Country.
All of this ties together: Sturgill’s comments to Rolling Stone, We Hate Pop Country, and a lot of the topics I broached in this article. The next article I write on this topic will explain all of this. Stay tuned.
January 8, 2015 @ 7:13 am
I should’ve said “CREDITABLE CRITIC WEBSITE”, not a Facebook page with a bunch of meme pictures! I’ve seen We Hate Pop Country. It’s not relevant in my opinion. Nobody in their right mind would consider We Hate Pop Country a legitimate creditable critic website, especially somebody like Sturgill! He’s too smart for that. You don’t become as successful as he has as an independent artist and take a Facebook page like that seriously. A majority of your stories are legitimate and you are a professional writer/critic. But some of your stories concerning contemporary country music aren’t that far behind We Hate Pop Country. Why “bitch and moan” about modern country music? I don’t turn my radio on to ANY radio station that plays A SINGLE BRO COUNTRY ARTIST!!!! It’s as simple as this, if you don’t like it, just don’t listen to it! Do you really need to EXPLAIN/REPORT/EDUCATE (whatever you want to call it) to the people who read this website why a FGL, Luke Bryan, Cole Swindell or any other crappy Bro Country artist suck??? NO, you don’t. It’s like your preaching to the choir. We all come to this website to hear stuff about good artist. Not to find out how or why Bro Country sucks! If we didn’t think Bro Country/modern country suck, we probably wouldn’t even read your website. We already know it sucks. The bashing rhetoric headlines that constantly show up concerning those artists, Big Machine, Scott Borchetta gets pretty old. I don’t even read those stories on here anymore and I’m about ready to give up on this website altogether.
January 8, 2015 @ 7:32 am
This is a FACT!
I don’t think that word means what you think it means.
January 8, 2015 @ 6:47 pm
I don’t have much to add but I personally find it hilarious that some facebook club was mass reporting SCM facebook posts.
And on the subject of “memes” (didn’t know there were Sturgill Simpson memes)…. I feel very sorry for Waylon Jennings and Marilyn Monroe with some of the things people put in their mouths.
January 8, 2015 @ 3:08 am
Obvious but great pick! Sturgil is the only artist that blends old and new influences in the best way possible and makes it work to great effect imo. When you hear him, you immediately know and feel that it’s genuine, sincere and real country music that respects the roots and traditions of the genre. Hell, I even saw a big retail store selling the vinyl LP of ‘Metamodern’ ! That itself is quite unusual to come across here in Europe, cause when I want to get my hands on an independent country, folk or americana album I have to order it at a small independent store or on Amazon and wait…
January 8, 2015 @ 6:56 am
Historically your picks have been unpredictable. This was definitely one of the more obvious picks. So I think it helps show that you’re not just trying to be different. Everyone has their own opinions on which album/song/artist were the best. I think you do an amazing job of filtering through all of it. Personally, I feel that just being nominated on your site is good enough. I’ve enjoyed listening to pretty much all the albums nominated every single year.
January 8, 2015 @ 8:22 am
As always Trigger, great article!