Sturgill Simpson Randomly Shows Up To Kentucky School, Plays for Students
All across the United States of America, student-aged youngsters are turning their summer smiles into school year frowns as they once again acquiesce to the indoctrination of academia. But for one high school in Jackson, Kentucky, they got a pleasant and completely unplanned surprise when Grammy Award-winning hometown hero Sturgill Simpson showed up to serenade students.
On Friday (8-31), Sturgill Simpson showed up to Highland-Turner Elementary School, and the Breathitt County High School in Jackson unannounced to play music for the student body, and to speak to them about the success he’s found in music. Rising from a completely unknown Kentucky songwriter, to playing multiple times on Saturday Night Live, winning the 2017 Grammy for Best Country Album, and being nominated right beside artists like Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Drake, and Adele for Album of the Year, success is certainly something Sturgill Simpson can speak to.
“It was really cool for the students to see someone who has succeeded in that way,” said Principal Carolyn McDaniel Breathitt County High School. Sturgill stopped by every class in the school to speak and play, and posed with students for pictures.
Some local news outlets covered the event, but seemed to be puzzled themselves of why Sturgill decided to make the trek to Jackson. Even though Simpson was born and raised in the town of 2,000 as the offspring of coal miners, he didn’t graduate from Breathitt High School. Since his father worked as an undercover policeman in the area, the family decided to move to Versalles, Kentucky outside of Lexington when Sturgill was growing up, and he attended Woodford County High School.
However the reason Sturgill decided to visit Jackson can be heard right there in the words to his song “Pan Bowl.”
I’d give anything to go back, days I was young
All the way back to Pan Bowl, I sit down on the lake bed, stare at the sun
Then I’d walk out in the water, let it cleanse my soul
Spend my days up on Quicksand, there I would play, wild as a rattlesnake
Right from the start, I’d push August in, swing all day
Well she was the first girl that ever broke my heart….
Sturgill Simpson’s song “Pan Bowl” from his magnum opus Metamodern Sounds in Country Music is about the thin, meandering, pan-shaped lake that once was a loop of the Kentucky River, and is now a favorite local fishing hole right north of Jackson, Kentucky proper and the Breathitt County High School. Quicksand is a town just down the road. Being the last day of August made Sturgill’s visit even more appropriate. Art imitating life, if you will.
This wasn’t a PR trick by Sturgill Simpson. There were no reporters present. It was just a trip down memory lane. And now the students of Breathitt County High School have their own memories to share.
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In March, Sturgill Simpson was named a Kentucky Colonel, and recognized by the State Legislature.
September 3, 2018 @ 8:15 am
Metamodern Sounds In Homeroom
September 3, 2018 @ 8:37 am
A Sailor’s guide to Exponents
September 3, 2018 @ 9:48 am
Maybe the kids helped him find a word that rhymed with Bronco.
September 3, 2018 @ 8:19 am
That is adorable. I’ll bet those kids remember this for their lifetime. How cool of him.
September 3, 2018 @ 8:41 am
So cool.
September 3, 2018 @ 9:12 am
I wish he could show up to the shows he sold tickets to. I’m still pissed that he flaked out last minute in Phoenix.
September 3, 2018 @ 12:11 pm
Are you talking about the Pot of Gold festival appearance? I’ve never been able to get any confirmation from anyone, but through my digging it seemed like the festival may have not been able to pay Sturgill, and canceled the appearance for him last minute. Neither Sturgill’s booking agent nor Pot of Gold ever gave an official reason, but something there was fishy.
September 3, 2018 @ 2:31 pm
Yes, that’s what I am referring to. You are right, the whole thing seemed really strange and we were never given an explanation. Tickets were $100 each and it was hell getting a refund for the 4 I bought. They added Cody Jinks to the bill late in the game so maybe that took some money away from Sturgill? I’m still wondering what happened.
September 4, 2018 @ 6:56 am
Then why say you are pissed at Sturgill?
September 3, 2018 @ 9:14 am
Very cool gesture by Sturgill. Kids in areas like that in todays times need a success story like that. See hes sportin some new ink also.
September 3, 2018 @ 11:20 am
That’s really cool. Reminds me of when Damien Jurado did that, and went into depth with the students about being creative, etc. He’s more folk, not country, but still cool if you like this sort of thing, or discussions about creativity:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGwi-jP5yDk
September 4, 2018 @ 9:42 am
Gave you a “Like” for the Damien Jurado reference. Coats of Ice was the first song I ever heard by him and was just wowed by the rest of Caught in the Trees.
September 3, 2018 @ 12:16 pm
HighSchool Top Mountain
September 3, 2018 @ 2:46 pm
He seems like a really good guy. I can’t wait to see what new direction he’s taking his music in.
September 3, 2018 @ 7:35 pm
I miss seeing that feller around. I hate to be nostalgic,and I’m so glad he’s found success….But I miss ol’ Stu. He’s a good man. I’m not from the right part of Kentucky to even matter these days, but he was always kind to me and my band. I love Breathitt County, I love the people of Jackson, and I’ll always be so proud of Sturgill.
This made my heart happy.
September 3, 2018 @ 8:57 pm
Indoctrination of academia? Sorry to see you’ve joined the “keep ’em stupid” bandwagon that has infected our nation. In the schools around here, children love the challenges that come with learning. Had you done so yourself, you wouldn’t be relegated to the lowbrow world of music blogging.
September 3, 2018 @ 9:29 pm
It was clearly a sarcastic remark to give some flair to a boring introduction to a story, sheesh.
I did hate school though, but only because it didn’t fit my interests or challenge me enough. I dropped out so I could learn. Now I’m one of the very few people left in society that can make a living writing about music, and I am my own boss. Call it lowbrow all you want, but I feel like the luckiest man in the world and infinitely blessed to be able to pursue my passions of music and writing, and make a living doing so.
September 4, 2018 @ 8:14 am
Checkmate!
September 3, 2018 @ 11:03 pm
The lowbrow world of music blogging? Lol, how bout the lowbrow world of pretentious unionists who aid the perpetuation of one of the most dumbed down education systems in the world? Are you AFT or NEA? Or are you one of the leeches robbing the middle class by charging tuition out the ass for establishment approved scholarship? Take your head out of your ass and educate yourself for real. Your letters and degrees don’t mean shit nowadays.
September 4, 2018 @ 5:05 am
Are you mad that he makes a living doing what he loves? Surely you must have something better to do than troll.
September 4, 2018 @ 5:14 am
Are you really “sorry” to see that, Jim? Because to me, it seems like you’re striking another self righteous pose.
September 4, 2018 @ 6:33 am
Hopefully you’re teaching the students “around there” (in highbrow snobville), to love the challenges of reading sarcasm and having a sense of humor, so they can compensate for your total lack there of.
September 4, 2018 @ 7:19 am
Just wanted to let everyone know how glad I was to know how to do parallelograms. It really came in handy this parallelogram season..
My very first Job interview somebody asked me how many valence electrons Cadmium has.
Reading Wuthering Heights in tenth grade really prepared me to manage my own budget!
The educational system is a waste of everyone’s time and tax dollars and produces generation after generation of people unable to perform basic tasks.
They can’t cook, can’t do their own oil changes, can’t grow their own food, can’t hold a 40 hour job…
But at least they know the difference between mitosis and meiosis.
I’m sick and tired of these tattooed youngsters walking around dropping H from words and ending sentences with prepositions making up stupid words like YEET because half of them failed English but got a free ride because their thick heads came in handy on the football team and the teachers talk to them about their feelings and sensitivity and they go out into the real world and can’t perform basic tasks like putting extra pickles on a sandwich and expect people not to yell. If somebody had been harder on a lot of these kids they’d be a lot better off.
September 4, 2018 @ 7:22 am
Once again we see Sturgill Simpson’s spontaneity, love for humanity, off-the-wall thinking, and general “not an asshole”ness.
While Taylor and Luke are living in fancy houses in gated communities probably frowning on all the rubes out here in the real world Sturgill Simpson never gets too full of himself and like we saw when he protested the awards show last November he’s just an unpredictable, self-deprecating guy who doesn’t take himself too seriously making his own path and doing things his own way and always thinking about more than just his next bit of work.
Sturgill Simpson is the modern day outlaw, making his own rules, calling his own shots, doing this his way right or wrong.
and hopefully a new generation of creative people can grow up on this and learn to make music for the art and not for the fame and fortune.
September 4, 2018 @ 8:19 am
Really cool stuff. Good for Sturgill here.
Panbowl takes me back to my childhood every time I hear it. Not sure there is a song I can think of that walks through one man’s childhood and family the way it does. The lyrics suck you right in and you can literally feel it. Not a lot of music left these days that can do that.
Appreciate you sharing this story.
September 4, 2018 @ 9:33 am
Did he sing You Can Have the Crown or Turtles All the Way Down to the elementary school youngsters? What a great role model. I’d be pissed if this was my kid’s school. May as well bring in lil’ Wayne.
September 4, 2018 @ 11:00 am
Yeah, they’re exactly the same. ????
September 4, 2018 @ 11:28 am
Both namecheck drugs in their songs and imply drug use is cool. Frick your eyeroll.
September 4, 2018 @ 11:37 am
Well, clutch my pearls. So did Willie, so did Johnny, and Merle. Nice try though.
September 4, 2018 @ 12:25 pm
Song is far from how cool drugs are.
September 4, 2018 @ 2:46 pm
Drug use for adults is a personal choice.
Like beer, whiskey, cigarettes, and coffee.
Unless yer’ against not bein’ fer freedom!
September 4, 2018 @ 1:49 pm
Take a deep breath bud….it will all be alright.
Which artist would you have preferred to show up? One that only sings about getting drunk in a few songs rather than getting high? Virtually every great country artist has sang about or done one or the other.
September 4, 2018 @ 12:12 pm
Oh. My. God.
September 5, 2018 @ 6:52 pm
Did he happen to tell the kids their parents are fucking bigots if they voted for Trump?