Sturgill Simpson’s Letter Explaining “Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1”
Unless you were on Mars last week, you are likely aware that Sturgill Simpson released a semi-surprise album on October 16th called Cuttin Grass Vol. 1 that reprises 20 previously-released songs from his catalog in bluegrass form. Though fans knew the record was upcoming, it was meant to be a surprise release, which was bungled when some music sites in Europe let the cat out of the bag a couple of days before.
Early indications are that the record is doing quite well and may debut high on the charts once all the chickens are counted. But don’t expect a ton of press from Sturgill Simpson promoting the record. Sturgill has always been leery of the press to begin with, and with COVID-19, those options are limited even further. Instead, on the day of the release, Sturgill sent a personal letter about the record to all the individuals who had signed up for his email list.
READ: Album Review – Sturgill Simpson’s Cuttin’ Grass – Vol. 1
In the lengthy letter, Sturgill talks about when he was first exposed to bluegrass, where he found a renewed passion for it later in life, and how he’s found a renewed passion for music again through bluegrass, and now as an independent artist once again. He also talks about the process of making Cuttin’ Grass, and other important topics surrounding the album.
But if you weren’t signed up for Sturgill’s email list, you probably didn’t see it. Some fans have posted it here and there, including in the Saving Country Music comments section. But since it seems like an important piece of information, it might be the only lengthy explanation of Cuttin’ Grass we receive, his core fans who put forth the effort to sign up for his newsletter have had their opportunity to see it first, and the last thing Sturgill or anyone else should want is to parse or regurgitate his own words, it’s probably of value to enter Sturgill’s letter properly and unabridged into the public record for any folks curious on Simpson’s own take on the record.
You can find it in full below.
Sturgill Simpson’s Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1 Letter
This album started when I was in the third grade.
My paternal grandfather was sort of a bluegrass freak. He played a little mandolin, and after he retired, he’d travel around to bluegrass festivals in his motor home making field recordings. He just lived and ate and breathed it, and every time he’d come to visit, he’d try to shove it down my throat. My palette wasn’t ready to absorb it at the time—I was probably still into the Monkees and, thanks to an older cousin, discovering bands like Cream and Led Zeppelin far too young. He would sit me down and play cassette tapes of live bluegrass. One night in my room, when he could sense my rejection of what I was hearing, he looked at me directly and said, “One day it’s gonna get in ya, and it’ll never get out.” I wish more than anything he was still here and could hear this collection of songs.
Many years later, after returning home to Kentucky from the military and living for some time out on the West coast, I was driving down the road one day and the public radio station played an old Monroe Brothers song and it absolutely floored me. A wave of emotion slammed me in the chest and I had to pull over on the side of the road. I was pretty much drifting at the time—completely lost, I guess you could say—and hearing that music brought everything to the surface.
It sounded like home. Bluegrass music is healing. I truly believe this to be true. It is made from ancient, organic tones and, as with most all forms of music, the vibrations and the pulse can be extremely therapeutic.
After that, I spent the next eight years or so obsessively scouring the earth for any and all of the old recordings of this music I could find. This was pre-YouTube era, so it wasn’t that easy. In 2005, I moved to Nashville for the first time. I was there for about a year, and the only thing I did was sit in my cinder block garage apartment and go to the Station Inn every Sunday night to play bluegrass. Needless to say, it was not the career jump-start I was hoping for, and I ended up moving back out west and taking a railroad job.
There’s been various reoccurring phases of obsession throughout my life with just about every kind of American music. In high school I was completely obsessed with electric blues and guitar playing. As I got older, I got more into writing and singing songs and playing acoustic guitars, more out of necessity than anything due to living in small apartments where I couldn’t crank up an amp. All the songs I’ve ever recorded in my life were written on one guitar, a Martin HD-28 I’ve owned since I was much younger, and sung in a fashion that was probably closer to bluegrass or country blues than to anything else. So doing a bluegrass album was always in my heart and in the back of my head. I had it in my mind for a long time that someday I wanted to cut as many of these songs as possible in that fashion, just organic and stripped down to the raw bones of the composition, without any heady production. If you can’t sit down and play the song like that, it’s probably not a very good song.
Last year, we made a pretty bangin’ rock and roll record and started a big arena tour, but it all got halted and ultimately cancelled when I got sick with the ‘Rona. We were in Europe back in January and February, and then came back to do arena shows in the US starting in late February. We had barely gotten into the tour when I knew something didn’t feel right—I felt extremely winded and fatigued, out of shape even…certain notes weren’t coming as easy as they should have. I couldn’t make sense of it, as I had lost a ton of weight in recent months in preparations for the tour and was living cleaner than ever. We played in Charleston on March 10th and the next day I was completely leveled physically, so we cancelled a string of shows that weekend starting in Hampton, West Virginia, and I went home. The next morning I was in the ER with pre-stroke blood pressure levels, feeling like I had an invisible ratchet strap cranking down around my chest. So after years of needing the break I never allowed myself, the universe decided it was time I stay home and take it easy.
I was stuck at home recovering in south Tennessee. I didn’t have any social media presence whatsoever to speak of before this last tour and the guys in my band gave me a lot of grief about that, so I let my drummer set my page up. I spend a lot of time in the woods at home. So on one of many boring days in quarantine, I made some goofy post in character as a backwoods badass named “Dick Daddy” running a fictitious survival school looking for new recruits, and somebody commented, “If you put that on a t-shirt, I’d buy it.” So I thought, what if I put it on 30,000 t-shirts and give that money to charity? Having been personally affected by this virus, I was trying to think of some way to help and to use the platform for something other than narcissism or toxicity. The response was amazing and hilarious. I received some pretty far-out recruit application videos in those weeks from people stuck at home trying to “live above Hell.”
In an effort to raise more money, I told my fans that if they hit a certain number by a deadline, I would put on a livestream concert, and if we reached a second goal, I’d put a record out this year. Well, they blew those goals completely out of the water, so really it was the fans made this album happen. Otherwise I may have just as easily spent all summer fishing and changing diapers. I called up my engineer/co-producer/partner in crime, David Ferguson and said, “Get all the best players in town,” and we went in and banged this record out in about three days, with no planning or preparation.
Ferg had been begging me to make this album since we’d met in 2015. He has been a true friend and touchstone for me in Nashville where I’ve had so few.
He has also probably forgotten more about recording music than most people will ever know in this life, so I put myself in his hands and asked him to produce the sessions so I could focus more on having fun and singing. I self-produced my last two albums and have learned it can sometimes be an unnecessarily exhausting process wearing all those hats at the same time.
That same week we did a charity gig at the Ryman, which was essentially a livestream of our first rehearsal. That was one of the more surreal gigs of my life, playing that room completely empty.
I typically go into the studio with most of the album written in my head and end up throwing half the songs away and writing the rest during the process once the album reveals itself for what it wants to be. But with this record, I just went though my back catalogue and listed which songs I thought would work best and surrounded myself with musical wizards, so at most there might have been some second takes…but not many.
Once they learned the form, we just went in and hit record. Ferg and I told everyone, “What you play off the floor is what it’s going to be—we’re not punching in solos or overdubbing anything, it’s just going to be totally raw and live.” Due to modern recording technology and the endless choices it brings, even modern bluegrass recordings have suffered from the soul-sucking pursuit of perfection. Merle Haggard once told me that “perfect is about the most boring thing on Earth.” When it comes to music, he was dead on. As a result it was the fastest recording I’ve ever made.
Adapting the songs was pretty easy; even a few of the tunes that I thought might be a little weird worked very easily. Some of the more esoteric psycho-babble songs, like the song “Just Let Go,” we got in the first take. It was just extremely easy, fun, everybody was laughing the whole time. Mostly, I was just humbled and amazed to be in the room with all these musicians. You can’t overstate all their talents—truly next-level freak show kind of stuff.
There are songs from all my albums except for the last one, and there’s two or three that I wrote 15 years ago back when I was playing dive bars in Kentucky. Those are the songs that were really cool to hear finally realized the way I had always wanted them to be recorded. “I Don’t Mind” is a song I wrote in 2006 or 2007, and it’s probably my wife’s favorite song that I’ve ever written. So she basically said, “Don’t come home if that thing’s not on the album” I thought it turned out really pretty, really beautiful, everybody did a great job on it.
If I had to say what’s the most definitively bluegrass song on the record, I would probably say “All the Pretty Colors.” The performance, the feel, the lyrical content, that could be like a bluegrass standard some day. I really loved what Sierra Hull, who sings and plays mandolin, did on “Breaker’s Roar”—she put these lilting harmonies on it that made it just as pretty as the strings on the Sailor’s Guide record. I thought that was really cool. She’s such an amazing and special talent and her mandolin playing really brought a fresh contemporary feel to the album that might otherwise not have been there had I used any number of other players. She also kept everyone on their best behavior in the studio. Bluegrass musicians can be a squirrelly bunch.
The bluegrass I love is from post-World War II up to the mid-‘70s. All of it, from the classic styles to the Ozark style, and especially some of the folk-tinged, almost mystical sounds that came out of California in the late ’60s. After that, everything kinda got away from the true pulse and the rhythm of bluegrass that Bill Monroe devised, and became more based on hot flash soloing and herky-jerky “look what I can do.” That stuff does nothing for me.
My grandfather always told me that when it came to the instrumental or the solo sections, if you get away from the melody of the song, you’re not playing bluegrass anymore, you’re just showing off. So we were trying to adhere to the Jimmy Martin swing, the Clinch Mountain feel, because that’s the bluegrass I love. It should sound like a train rolling. I decided to call it volume one—because I could easily and literally do seventeen of these albums!
The thing I’ve realized about the ride I’ve been on these past seven years is that to me, despite what others may call and label them, all my records are simply “American music.” My head and my heart go different directions all the time, and when you put out a record, it becomes this definitive thing, like “this is who you are now” because people need to define things for the cycle of that album. This album for me was always just supposed to be a sort of simple mix tape for my fans, so it’s somewhat funny to me to think we might play TV shows and what not to promote it, and for a time I’ll be considered a bluegrass musician. In all honesty, though, I guess that’s probably the closest thing to the truth that could ever be put in print about me.
This album also begins a new phase for my career. I’m starting back the way I started out, on my own record label. I’m realizing more and more every day what I already knew, which is that I was always supposed to be an independent artist. I’m just trying to look forward and create without any industry timelines or narratives and all the creative restrictions that inevitably come with them. The real benefit is that I’ve completely fallen back in love with music again. I was really burnt out for a long while, due to so many variables that had absolutely nothing to do with making music, and as a result had started associating music with some of the headaches behind the curtain that came with it. But with all that now in the rearview, I am feeling extremely healthy and happy. Mostly I’m just extremely grateful to wake up every day and look at my children. When I’m not playing with my kids, I just sit around playing guitar all day, which I haven’t really done for a number of years.
The world’s hurting right now in so many ways…there are a lot of people in way worse shape than most of us could ever imagine. I cannot fix or change any of this. But I can change myself. And I can put some music out, and hopefully, if nothing else, it might make some people forget about their pain and troubles for fifty-five minutes.
– Sturgill Simpson, October 2020″
mouths of babes
October 20, 2020 @ 8:23 am
Less talk, more rock.
Naia Bombestein
October 20, 2020 @ 12:24 pm
? What kind of comment is that? This is a post, not a concert? Gawd…..people.
toddxolsen
October 20, 2020 @ 8:32 am
Thank you Sturgill
Thank you Trig
Aaron Bennett
October 20, 2020 @ 8:33 am
Thanks for posting that in it’s pure form with almost no commentary. I’ve been following Sturgill since you first started covering him, and watching his sometimes-tortured but always honest voyage through the belly of the commercial music industry has been refreshing. The new record is great, but most importantly, it’s nice to hear him sounding positive.
It won’t last. Any guesses on what’s next? Death metal? Hip-Hop? Classical mandolin? Harp music? A book of poetry? A novel? Anything’s possible.
The artist he reminds me of the most, for exactly that reason, is Neil Young.
Thom’s Country Bunker
October 20, 2020 @ 9:04 am
This is the Sturgill Simpson I want in my life, not the mean-spirited, bad attitude guy that came with the last album. I think the promo for this LP has been genuinely, laugh out loud funny and in a world short of yuks, that’s been very welcome. (check his Instagram)
Hank Charles
October 20, 2020 @ 9:16 am
The addition of “Cuttin’ Grass” grinders as merch had me dying.
Too perfect.
Debbie
October 20, 2020 @ 9:10 am
Sturgill is a great artist and I’m glad he shares with us every which way he chooses to go musically. I wasn’t a big fan of Sound & Fury, so I didn’t buy it AND I’m still a Sturgill fan. LOVING this bluegrass release and praying HARD for the day where he may get back on a Sunday Valley vibe with new material.
Mmmmkay
October 20, 2020 @ 9:27 am
I’m going to be honest here. I highly question anyone that proposes to put out a bluegrass record now that they are an independent artist again. Sturgill gave some flack to Tyler for putting out “A History of Violence” (an instrumental record no less) when he did so I have a real hard time wrapping my head around him doing the same just a month or so later now that he’s not bending over for a corporate label anymore.
Stringbuzz
October 20, 2020 @ 11:33 am
What type of flack?
hoptowntiger94
October 20, 2020 @ 3:30 pm
What in the tarnation are talking about? Sturgill’s bluegrass album(s) were rumored long before any semblance of Tyler’s album surfaced. Although Tyler beat him to the release, I believe the notion of a Sturgill bluegrass album originated way before Tyler’s.
Where is this flack? Sturgill had to come out and say he didn’t pressure Tyler to release Long Violent History (but I think that was related to the social commentary of the song).
Di Harris
October 20, 2020 @ 4:10 pm
Haven’t heard, or seen the word tarnation, in a while.
This word kills me.
Thanks for the laugh, hoptown
david pope
October 20, 2020 @ 10:16 am
Thank you! I really needed this music!
DJ
October 20, 2020 @ 10:19 am
I’ll keep this, short, sweet and to the point as I can- even though several things came to mind-
the two most prominent thoughts I had: 1), too soon old, too late smart- and 2), duplicitous-
I’ve never been a fan and it’s gonna take a lot to get me past his “performance” (?) on SNL- and his “holier than thou” (or anyone else) attitude-
thegentile
October 20, 2020 @ 11:49 am
i really enjoy that everything this man does makes some people here squirm.
King Honky Of Crackershire
October 20, 2020 @ 1:14 pm
I don’t think anybody’s squirming. Speaking for myself, he just really sucks at music, and it annoys me to come to my favorite music website and not have an article to read 3 days out of every week, because the website’s owner has had a strange, unhealthy man-crush on this dude for 3/4ths of a decade.
If I am squirming, it’s because of Trigger, not your boy Sturg.
thegentile
October 20, 2020 @ 1:24 pm
thinking my comment applied to you, replying, mentioning *him* a few times, has really convinced me!
King Honky Of Crackershire Knows Better
October 20, 2020 @ 3:25 pm
thegentile,
Your comment applied to everyone who upset you by expressing their dislike of one of your favorite performers.
Ooty
October 20, 2020 @ 1:40 pm
You could just have shitty taste in music homeboy. Maybe stick to commenting on articles written about what you listen to.
who cares
October 20, 2020 @ 6:29 pm
Maybe you should stick commenting on comments that only praise your messiah? 🙂
Go along now, be a good little disciple of the house of Sturg.
DJ
October 20, 2020 @ 2:10 pm
I’m not squirming- maybe you’d best let someone else choose your thoughts-
for your edification a copy and paste of what I typed:
I’ll keep this, short, sweet and to the point as I can- even though several things came to mind-
the two most prominent thoughts I had: 1), too soon old, too late smart- and 2), duplicitous-
I’ve never been a fan and it’s gonna take a lot to get me past his “performance” (?) on SNL- and his “holier than thou” (or anyone else) attitude-
Does that make you squirm? No? Me either. I might want to slap the shit out of anyone who portrays them self as holier than thou, which would be extremely difficult while squirming. Think about it.
Jerry Clower's Ghost
October 20, 2020 @ 10:40 am
And the veiled sexual reference in the title of this album in reference to the prestigious DDSS is typical Winning Sturgill. It’s nice to hear his music return to relevancy.
Rob
October 20, 2020 @ 10:48 am
Very glad to hear Sturgill sound happy about making music. Refreshing after the angry Sturgill interview last year. Also, for my money, “I don’t mind” just might be song of the year, and “Cuttin Grass” up there for album of the year, beat probably only by Brent Cobb’s latest. Here’s to hoping Vol 2 has “Medicine Springs.”
Robinson Jeffers
October 20, 2020 @ 1:27 pm
I Don’t Mind has amazing verses and a melody to die for. The part that leaves me scratching my head is that after he confesses how much he misses and pines for his lost love he tells her he wouldn’t mind if she came back into his life. I mean, if you really want something that bad, isn’t there a more appropriate and fitting sentiment than just saying “I don’t mind.” If I was the girl I’d be life fuck you hahaha. But seriously am I missing something?
Stringbuzz
October 21, 2020 @ 8:39 am
I think he realizes he F’d up with no excuses, realizes it, and because of it, whatever she may want to do, he doesn’t mind.
Your comment got me thinking. LOL
Canuck26
October 21, 2020 @ 10:10 am
He may have told her that he doesn’t want her back, or that he doesn’t want her to love him anymore, etc etc at the time of the breakup (I think it seems like he broke up with her)
So he’s saying he no longer minds
Suzanna
October 22, 2020 @ 12:06 pm
Sturgill loves a sad, ironic love song. When he sings, “If you think you could ever love me again, please go ahead, I don’t mind” he is revealing how vulnerable he is in the song. He spends the whole song talking about how much he loves a woman he was never able to open up to and how much he misses her and how he’s “alone in a way [he’s] never been.” It is heart-wrenching. But all of this is inside his mind and heart, not shown to her.
Then he makes a feeble show of trying to seem tough and casual when he actually speaks out loud to her saying, “Oh, by the way, if you’re interested in getting together again, that would be cool, I don’t mind.” Which is so sad because you know she sees right through him and she knows that he hasn’t changed.
Andy Wills
October 20, 2020 @ 10:57 am
Its a beautiful thing.
King Honky Of Crackershire
October 20, 2020 @ 11:09 am
Jeez, this is what I was dreading. We’re going to get 3 articles per week about this clown for the next 12 weeks.
thegentile
October 20, 2020 @ 11:51 am
thoughts and prayers in your trying time to you and yours.
King Honky Of Crackershire
October 20, 2020 @ 1:00 pm
Nobody believes you pray, dawg. I appreciate your concern, but give me something real, something I can hold onto.
who cares
October 20, 2020 @ 6:08 pm
It always amuses me, someone makes a comment about their opinion regarding to much exposure time for “x”. For thegentile x = the prophet Sturgill.
Then some dope person comes along and either complains or bites at the fact that someone is overly complaining about “x” whilst trying to be all pious and uppity. Multiple times as well it seems on this article.
My thoughts a prayers are with you thegentile, the demonic herd are attacking your prophet, you must pray hard to help him overcome.
63Guild
October 20, 2020 @ 11:22 am
Sturgill definitely has been promoting this with a lot of tongue in cheek, such as today when he posted a DDSS Cutting Grass yard sign in the CMA yard.
Hank Charles
October 20, 2020 @ 11:50 am
How long until the “I can’t read his dialect” crowd shows up?
DJ
October 20, 2020 @ 2:21 pm
People don’t read with their ears- just sayin- I did read the articler Trigger wrote and I did read the essay produced by the holier than thou jerk- and I stand by my comments- like I said; duplicitous is the second thing that came to mind- too soon old, too late smart is the first thing.
Copy and paste: the two most prominent thoughts I had: 1), too soon old, too late smart- and 2), duplicitous-
Is it not okay to disagree with anothers assessment? Can you change my mind about him?
What specifically would negate the complete ass he’s made of himself in public? That his music is liked? What if I (or others) don’t like his music? Is that a sin? A crime?
I don’t like giving anyone credit for being a jerk- I don’t care what he does for a living.
thegentile
October 20, 2020 @ 2:35 pm
some might think someone who comes to a music review to copy and paste their same old hat complaints three times is a jerk.
clearly there is something about this man and people enjoying his music that really sets you off.
Trigger
October 20, 2020 @ 2:53 pm
You coming here to antagonize other commenters as opposed to contributing to the conversation isn’t helping.
thegentile
October 20, 2020 @ 3:32 pm
i’m not sure there really is a point in trying to discuss music with people who go out of their way to complain about an artist every time they’re mentioned. and according to them you are antagonizing them by writing about a very popular artist playing country music and that artist is antagonizing them by simply being.
Trigger
October 20, 2020 @ 4:02 pm
Then just ignore them, and share your feelings about what Sturgill had to say in the letter. The dude dropped all kinds of quotes and things to discuss, and people don’t want to come here to watch you and Honky pull each other’s hair like a couple of schoolgirls.
DJ
October 20, 2020 @ 4:29 pm
No- you would be wrong in your assumption- I don’t like him or his music. Period.
I also don’t like a jerk being praised- no matter what his occupation- I believe there are more worthy “artist”-
Hank Charles
October 20, 2020 @ 3:38 pm
I’m not here to change minds. I respect the fact that you’re honest and say you don’t like him because he’s a jerk.
There’s many that agree with you. But instead of admitting it, they will craft pretty transparent reasons to discredit the music.
Dude is an artist, and has attained a level of success where he does and says what he wants. Not everyone is going to be down with that, and it’s totally understandable.
who cares
October 20, 2020 @ 6:39 pm
lol, fair comments.
An opinion of a musicians character (i.e jerk) should not factor into deciding if you generally like someones music or not. You should always respect their success even if you do not like the music, as many others obviously liked it enough.
However it amuses me how strongly the opinion of the character becomes once you’ve decided if you like/dislike the music.
I.E I love his music, such a strong independent man doing things on his terms
I.E I hate his music, plus he’s such a jerk, so there!
Suzanna
October 22, 2020 @ 12:48 pm
Sturgill has always done and said what he wants, even before he had any success. Sometimes it’s self-serving and cranky, sometimes it’s thoughtful and brave. The guy is “mercurial” to use his own description of himself but he is clearly trying to be a better person and I admire that in anyone. I don’t have the patience to put up with moodiness in real life but in a celebrity, I kind of like it. Much better than bland.
King Honky Of Crackershire
October 20, 2020 @ 1:43 pm
Are you referencing the fact that your boy doesn’t have a heavy accent when he speaks, but sings like his mouth is full of cotton balls, which is clearly unrelated to an accent?
Because if so, I got here at 11:09 AM.
Hank Charles
October 20, 2020 @ 3:02 pm
Mostly just poking fun at those that parrot the same, desperately thin criticisms in every thread.
But you know how it goes.
who cares
October 20, 2020 @ 6:23 pm
To be fair, not a fan of Sturg’s music, however any differences in accents/voice when they sing compared to when they talk does not bother me. How they sound when they sing is the only important aspect when I listen to the music. I do not care if it changes a little from song to song, as long as it fits the song.
Hank Charles
October 20, 2020 @ 7:04 pm
I don’t see it as a terrible gripe to say “I don’t like the way he sings”. Vocal stylings are a matter of taste.
But how it’s framed, especially with a degree of vitriol behind it, is usually a tell. To me, he leans into his drawl with the way he projects. You can hear it in his normal talking voice – like most of us, moving away from eastern Kentucky causes that particular accent to fade. But man, when he sings, that’s pure Breathitt County, Kentucky that comes through your speakers.
The recency of that now frequent critique is the real kicker though. Shockingly, I never seemed to see it during the High Top/Metamodern years. Probably not a coincidence.
Keith
October 20, 2020 @ 2:24 pm
It’s alright, because I like Sturgill, and Bluegrass. It’s in my all time rotation for bluegrass playlists. is there a song that I have to listen to 17 times in a row, like I do Ricky skaggs, or will I go on a two-week Bender like I do Jimmy Martin… Probably not…. But great to have more Sturgill
Corncaster
October 20, 2020 @ 2:57 pm
TLDR
Play music.
Jake Cutter
October 20, 2020 @ 4:57 pm
I’m not his biggest fan as of late, and apparently I have all kind of transparent ulterior motives and probably need more counseling and scolding from the Captain Callouts, but I enjoyed reading his letter, and am glad he’s found happiness and love of music again. Good for him.
wayne
October 21, 2020 @ 10:21 am
“Captain Callouts”. Classic. LMAO.
Racer53
October 20, 2020 @ 5:43 pm
Sturgill put out a kick ass bluegrass album. I also appreciated the accompanying letter explaining it. As someone who has been turned off by ol Sturgill lately, this was very redeeming for me. Sometime after Hightop came out, there was an article on SCM (probably the album review) about Sturgill. Read the review and checked out the album and was blown away and checked his tour dates. As luck would have it he was going to be opening for The Devil Makes Three about an hour down the road in a week or two. I’m pretty sure my buddies and myself were the only ones there for Sturgill. It was a kick ass show. After his set, went out to the lobby and got a chance to talk to him. What a down to earth guy he seemed like. Very easy to talk to and seemed so appreciative that we were there to see him. He didn’t even have any merchandise for sale, only a handful of cd’s in a briefcase. It seemed as though fame did a number on him, though. The last few years he comes across as the polar opposite of the humble and appreciative guy I first met. With all that said, I look forward to anything he puts out, and this one didn’t disappoint.
Blackh4t
October 20, 2020 @ 6:00 pm
Nice Sierra Hull album with some Sturgill guy on lead vocals.
Would have been nice if they took the time to arrange a few songs a bit more nuanced. Sounds a bit rushed, that whole ‘one take’ thing can be overrated.
But Sierra was sounding good.
Charlie
October 21, 2020 @ 4:36 am
On my ‘Listened to it All the Way Through?’ scale it gets a 10.
On my “Listen to it again?’ scale it gets a 5.
On my ‘Greatest of All Time?’ scale it gets a 3.
I didn’t read all his long e-mail. Once I paused 2.5 Men at the end and read one of Chuck Lorre’s long posts. I didn’t do that again.
Mike
October 21, 2020 @ 2:50 pm
I’ve seen him refer to that Bill Monroe moment before, and I know he mentioned which song it was. Now, I can’t find that reference.
Does anyone know that actual Bill Monroe song he’s talking about?
Billy Wayne Ruddick
October 21, 2020 @ 4:02 pm
He’s currently teasing a collaboration album with the K-Pop group LOONA on his instagram page (their album has been competing with Cuttin’ Grass for the #1 spot on some of the digital charts the past few days).
That would be amazing….just to see everyone crap the bed here in the comment sections if nothing else.
Stringbuzz
October 21, 2020 @ 5:26 pm
One of the strangest instagram interactions I may have ever witnessed. That bands vids have 20m+ views and I think sturgill has won all their fans over today..
JT
October 22, 2020 @ 8:20 am
It’s amazing to me how many people seem to actively hate Sturgill Simpson. He is playing you people like a fiddle….
Farina
October 22, 2020 @ 5:44 pm
I’m not one for over-explanations. But I’m with wifey. “I Don’t Mind” is the shit!
Jim stamper
October 23, 2020 @ 5:36 am
The fact that his family is from Kentucky how can he not love bluegrass love his music