Sturgill Simpson to Perform at the 2017 Grammy Awards
Sturgill Simpson will perform at the 2017 Grammy Awards producers confirmed Thursday morning (2-2). Though a performance slot was pretty much assured to the upsurging country artist after his recent album A Sailor’s Guide to Earth was nominated for both Best Country Album, and the all-genre Album of the Year category, due to the non-radio and independent nature of his rise, you didn’t want to guarantee it until the news was confirmed.
Also putting into question whether Sturgill would perform or even attend is his wife is expecting the birth of their second child at right about the same time as the 2017 Grammy Awards on February 12th in Los Angeles. In an interview with The New York Times after the announcement of the Grammy nominations, Sturgill Simpson explained the situation.
“I can tell you that my wife and I have our second child on the way, due any time in the first two weeks of February,” Sturgill explains. “So this is all a little hairy. I would love to be there, but I’m not going to miss a birth for it. [Laughs]. I certainly didn’t expect to have a Country Album of the Year nomination for this record, much less to be in the Album of the Year category. I asked my wife, ‘Why do I feel scared right now?’ I don’t even know what this means. How does it affect our life, or my career? I’m just trying to avoid any completely unnecessary expectations that people might think this puts on my career going forward. I’m not going to change how I approach my art.”
Sturgill also says he was intending to take the year off, but now is reconsidering due to the renewed interest in his music. He recently announced appearances at the Forecastle Music Festival in Kentucky and the Sloss Music Festival in Alabama, both in July.
“It might be a good idea to go play some shows again, I don’t know, given how many millions of people are saying, ‘Who the [expletive] is Sturgill Simpson?’ as of this morning.”
A Grammy performance slot for Sturgill Simpson will put him on the biggest stage in all of music. What he will do with it, and what song he might perform remains to be seen. Sturgill made the most of a recent appearance on Saturday Night Live, with his shortened and frenetic version of “Call To Arms” going viral after the episode.
Other announced performers at the 2017 Grammy Awards include Little Big Town, Maren Morris with Alicia Keys, Anderson .Paak with A Tribe Called Quest and Dave Grohl, the Weeknd with Daft Punk, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban, Adele, John Legend, Bruno Mars and Metallica.
Make sure to join Saving Country Music on Grammy night for a LIVE blog of the festivities.
February 2, 2017 @ 9:23 am
Incredible! One thing makes the awards worth watching..hoping for him to get album
February 2, 2017 @ 9:32 am
My ‘Who the Fuck is Sturgill Simpson?’ shirt has arrived today.
What a coincidence
February 2, 2017 @ 10:20 am
I got mine last weekend wore it to work and had a lot of people asking me ‘Who the Fuck is Sturgill Simpson?’ And I was happy to fill them in.?
February 2, 2017 @ 9:51 am
I’m glad to see Sturgill decided to take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity to show a large general audience his genius. I hope he chooses not to tour so he can spend time creating and recording new music sooner rather than later. Also hoping for more steel guitar and honky tonk rythems.
February 2, 2017 @ 9:58 am
Thank God they’re not pairing him with anyone like some of the other acts.
February 2, 2017 @ 10:03 am
Yes, I hope this holds form. Those multi-person medley performances rarely result in a “moment” that people remember, it’s just a way to cram more talent on the broadcast. Let a performance develop, and you have the opportunity to show what really makes an artist special.
February 4, 2017 @ 9:51 pm
How about In Bloom with Dave Grohl?
February 2, 2017 @ 9:58 am
Awesome. I would love to see him do Sea Stories. Or better yet, a combo performance with A Tribe Called Quest….just to make people’s heads explode on here and watch all of the self proclaimed “real country” fans’ throw a hissy fit! : )
February 2, 2017 @ 10:10 am
I’ve wanted to see him perform Sea Stories on one of these big media outlets badly. My favorite song off SGTE. Would love to see him, Jinks, Isbell, and Jamie Johnson do a cover of highwayman. Sturgill had got to fly the starship though.
February 2, 2017 @ 10:30 am
“You on point Sturg? All the time Tip” 😀
February 2, 2017 @ 10:36 am
Exactly! Sturgill’s band could do a great rendition of Electric Relaxation, with Sturgill filling in for Phife Dawg. You know Sturgill can rap. Probably raps along to a little Run The Jewels everyday in the shower!
February 2, 2017 @ 4:25 pm
I just saw Chance the Rapper is also performing. Sturgill has said on mutliple occasions he’s a fan of Chance. I could see him wanting to do a collab with him.
February 2, 2017 @ 2:01 pm
I thought this was Saving Country Music.
February 3, 2017 @ 10:34 am
If you don’t think Sturgill is country, that says quite a bit about your narrow view of the genre. Perhaps you should start a competing website, where you talk about Buck Owens and Jimmie Rogers over and over……with the occasional blind praise for Cody Jinks thrown in just to keep things up to date : )
February 2, 2017 @ 2:33 pm
Or better yet, a combo performance with A Tribe Called Quest…
Better yet?
February 3, 2017 @ 10:36 am
I was joking….but the “better yet” was referring to how great it would be to see certain posters on here throw a huge tantrum over it. All over an artist who they claim not to like, yet constantly comment about.
February 2, 2017 @ 10:18 am
I’m curious if the grammy’s will do a Merle tribute. If so I could see Sturgill being slotted into that, but it would definitely be a medley.
February 2, 2017 @ 10:26 am
It would be awesome if he got up there and did a protest song, like “folded flag” from his Sunday valley days or “you can have the crown” or “voices”, but alas he will almost definitely do a song from the latest album. I wouldn’t be surprised if he does oh Sarah given that his wife is expecting.
February 2, 2017 @ 5:35 pm
Not anymore…the baby has arrived according to Sturgill.
February 2, 2017 @ 10:34 am
Great news. Soon, the whole world will know who the fuck Sturgill Simpson is. And I guarantee they won’t forget him.
February 2, 2017 @ 10:35 am
I would love to see Kanye West get up on stage if Sturgill wins Album of the Year.
February 2, 2017 @ 11:19 am
I think Kanye’s exempt from the “One asshole at a time” rulle…
February 2, 2017 @ 12:28 pm
Kanye said he won’t be going because every time he goes up against a white performer the white guy always wins.
February 2, 2017 @ 12:40 pm
Yep, watch Simpson stomp a mudhole thru his ass.
February 2, 2017 @ 11:33 am
Sturgill Simpson and his whole ban should wear Nudie suits. That would be epic.
February 2, 2017 @ 1:05 pm
I bet he covers “Body Like a Backroad”
February 2, 2017 @ 1:37 pm
I hope Sturgill wins if only for the joys of the aftermath of Beyonce fans losing their collective shit. I’m an in a mood and that would brighten it.
February 2, 2017 @ 2:20 pm
Then we can all come on the next day and complain because he didn’t play Panbowl and only got one song.
February 2, 2017 @ 3:49 pm
Looks like his wife had the baby, so that’s good that he won’t have to miss that for the damn Grammys!
February 2, 2017 @ 8:09 pm
Check out LA Times article today on ‘surging Americana scene in Nashville and decline of ‘bro-country’
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-grammys-americana-20170202-story.html
February 3, 2017 @ 4:22 am
Interesting the author and contributors waste no time classifying Stapleton and Margo Price as Americana, not country.
February 3, 2017 @ 6:58 am
Also interesting that it labelled Americana as “a corner of pop”.
I though it was the antithesis of pop?
And it makes note of Americana passing Country on the Billboard charts, presumably piggybacking off the numbers of Stapleton, Price, and others…
I’m all for real music, but the article does seem to be a not-so-subtle effort to label all of Country as “bro-country” and throw it in the trash…
February 3, 2017 @ 7:16 am
“The “Americana” term has been in play since emerging in the early 1990s as an umbrella for roots music including one or more elements of country, folk, gospel, soul, blues and R&B.”
I assume the author is describing this break-out of the above genres into one new genre as fitting in a corner somewhere of mainstream music (the same way HipHop, Rock, etc. do). But I agree you can WAY over analyze this shit.
One thing for sure, the description above of Americana (mix of country, folk, gospel, soul, blues and R&B) sums up Sturgill Simpson.
February 3, 2017 @ 9:43 am
Thank you corncaster!
Maybe sturg could do “living the dream” and make all these johnny come lately sturg fans head’s explode. Tribe called Quest?BORRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGG!
Have the millenial monogenre yupsters hi-jacked this website?
February 3, 2017 @ 10:30 am
I was mostly joking with the Tribe Called Quest comment. I’ve been listening to country my whole life, and been listening to Sturgill for years, same with old school hip hop. Doesn’t make me a “yupster”, any more than saying things like “booooooorrrrriiiinnnnnnggggg” makes you a 12 year old girl straight out of 1987 ; )
February 7, 2017 @ 9:31 am
As for the term “Americana” music it’s the polite way of saying OUTLAW COUNTRY. It’s the only place you hear his music on the radio. As for Stirgill I hope he takes home both awards and does “You can have the crown” or “living the dream” . And as for him not being country that’s bull and he just has a lot of influence from other types of music. But I believe he could pull off an awesome grunge record.