Sturgill Simpson

March 26, 2013

Sturgill Simpson to Release “High Top Mountain” June 11th

Eastern Kentucky’s Sturgill Simpson will be releasing his long-awaited debut solo album High Top Mountain on June 11th, via Thirty Tigers. Comprised of 12 tracks, 10 of which were written by Sturgill, the album’s songs “…range from furious honky-tonk to pre-outlaw country rocking to spellbinding bluegrass pickin’ to emotional balladry, making the album a one-stop guide to everything genuine in country music.”

Dwight Yoakam, High Top Mountain, Junior Brown, Sturgill Simpson, Thirty Tigers

January 2, 2013

2012 Song of the Year – Billy Don Burns’ “Stranger”

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This song is about losing yourself, which we’ve all done, and will all do again, and how we all start off life with a firm grasp on who we are that life does its level best to wrestle away from us. But inside “Stranger” there is also a glimmer of hope in how the realization of one’s self can stimulate renewal. And above all of that, the beauty of “Stranger” is its fierce simplicity–the attribute of all excellent country songs.

Billy Don BUrns, Brigitte London, Eric Strickland, Johnny Paycheck, Kacey Musgraves, Merle Haggard, Olds Sleeper, Rusty Knuckles, Stranger, Sturgill Simpson, Tom VandenAvond, Turnpike Troubadours, Whitey Morgan, Willie Nelson

December 31, 2012

Saving Country Music’s Best Live Performances of 2012

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Where 2011 felt like a high water mark year for live performances and an average year for recorded projects, 2012 feels vice versa. When I look back on 2011, it seemed like there were moments I experienced that I will never top the rest of my life. 2012 is the year that some albums and songs were released that may never be topped. Still there were a quite a few memorable performances worth noting.

.357 String Band, Anderson Family Bluegrass, Austin Lucas, Bob Wayne, Don Maddox, Glossary, Goddamn Gallows, Jayke Orvis, JB Beverley, Joe Buck, Lake Street Dive, LC Ulmer, Lucky Tubb, Muddy Roots, Pickathon, Rachel Brooke, Ralph Stanley, Restavrant, Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, Robert Belfour, Slim Cessna's Auto Club, Sturgill Simpson, Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, The Calamity Cubes, Thee Oh Sees, XSXSW

December 28, 2012

Sturgill Simpson Retools for 2013 (& Live Review)

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About this time last year, I was telling everybody that 2012 was going to be the year of Kentucky-born and Nashville-based singer / songwriter Sturgill Simpson. “Mark my words,” I said. He had a brand new, professionally-made album in the can featuring recently-minted Country Hall of Famer Hargus “Pig” Robbins amongst other notable contributors.

Dwight Yoakam, Hargus "Pig" Robbins, Kathy Mattea, Marty Stuart, Sturgill Simpson, Sunday Valley, The Rattle Inn, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson

December 5, 2012

2012 Saving Country Music Song of the Year Nominees

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Every year this list stirs a little controversy because people misunderstand that these are not supposed to be the songs you “like” the best, but instead is supposed to be compositions in a given year that have the most impact. They’re songs that make you change the way you see the world, or change the way you see yourself. It is reserved for those few compositions that have the ability to change lives and to change the world.

Bigsky/Flatland, Billy Don BUrns, Chris Knight, Corb Lund, Drinking Whiskey, Eric Strickland, Good Lord Lorrie, Justin Twones Earle, Kacey Musgraves, Life Ain't Fair and the World Is Mean, Man In Gray, McDougall, Merry Go Round, New Year's Eve At The Gates Of Hell, Olds Sleeper, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Sara Watkins, Shooter Jennings, Song of the Year, Stranger, Sturgill Simpson, T Junior, Tom VandenAvond, Turnpike Troubadours, Unfortunately Anna, Wreck of a Fine Man

November 27, 2012

Why Underground Country Music Is Dying (A Treatise)

Trigger Random Notes 112 Comments

I have been struggling to write this article for almost two years, but have been putting it off because there’s some hard things to say, and I didn’t want to “talk down” a movement that was already trying to deal with pretty alarming trends. But I think that especially now, zooming out and trying to be honest and critical in a constructive way is important, because there is positively no doubt that underground country is dying.

.357 String Band, Bob Wayne, Dale Watson, Hank3, Hellbound Glory, Larry & His Flask, Leroy Virgil, Muddy Roots, Pickathon, Rachel Brooke, Reinstate Hank, Reverend Horton Heat, Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, Shooter Jennings, Sturgill Simpson, Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, The Goddamn Gallows, Those Poor bastards, Underground country, unknown hinson

October 13, 2012

Sturgill Simpson’s “Life Ain’t Fair & The World Is Mean”

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The magic of “Life Ain’t Fair” is the way it trivializes all the issues it raises by simply pointing out the obvious: that life’s unfairness is inherent, and complaining about it or using it as an excuse to not pursue your dreams is foolish. It’s cynical and inspirational all at the same time, and that feat of acrobatics can’t be performed without some acute dexterity and prowess with the pen.

Hargus "Pig" Robbins, Life Ain't Fair and the World Is Mean, Sturgill Simpson

August 9, 2012

Some Respect for Randy Travis at a Tough Time

Trigger Random Notes 37 Comments

Alright, so we’ve all now had our yucks over this story of a naked Randy Travis being arrested, and I am certainly not above guilt, but I am seeing some fairly alarming rhetoric surrounding this story that I feel is unhealthy to the country music environment. The details of the story may be funny, but the incident is not. Celebrity or no, Randy Travis is a human being who is clearly going through a moment of crisis in his life.

Bobby Bare, Brantley Gilbert, David Allan Coe, Eric Church, Garth Brooks, Johnny Paycheck, Justin Moore, Kris Kristofferson, Randy Travis, Sturgill Simpson, Taylor Swift, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson

April 27, 2012

Sunday Valley Becomes ‘Sturgill Simpson & High Top Mountain Boys’

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Sturgill Simpson, the dynamic force behind the band Sunday Valley, who is on the tail end of completing what Sturgill hopes to be his breakthrough album, has decided to go with a name change to “Sturgill Simpson & The High Top Mountain Boys” out of respect to the side players who are no longer with the band.

Sturgill Simpson, Sturgill Simpson & The High Top Mountain Boys, Sunday Valley

April 23, 2012

“Go Ready” Bands in Country Music Right Now

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Hollywood seems obsessed with finding talent among the masses with their silly reality show contests like American Idol and The Voice, when in reality there’s a boatload of talent just sitting there waiting to be discovered right under their surgically-crafted, cosmetically-sculptured noses. So here’s a list of some bands that are go ready, right now, no excuses.

Anderson Family Bluegrass, Dale Watson, Hellbound Glory, Leroy Virgil, Mad Max and the Wild Ones, Marty Stuart, Paige Anderson, Rachel Brooke, Ruby Jane, Sturgill Simpson, Sunday Valley, Turnpike Troubadours, Waylon Jennings, Wayne Hancock, Whitey Morgan & The 78's, Wyatt Maxwell

August 10, 2011

Review – Pickathon Festival 2011

Trigger Reviews 24 Comments

Certainly Pickathon is an expensive festival in a severe corner of the country (just outside of Portland, OR), and these natural barriers will always keep some from being able to attend. But as far as creating the best environment to allow creativity to happen, and a model for other festivals and public events to learn and be inspired from, Pickathon has no peer…

Charlie Parr, Eilen Jewell, John Doe, Jon Langford, Neko Case, Pickathon, Pokey LaFarge, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Sturgill Simpson, Sunday Valley, The Sadies, Truckstop Darlin, Whitey Morgan & The 78's

January 23, 2011

Sunday Valley Album Review & EPK

Trigger Reviews 36 Comments

It is not easy to capture the live energy a live band is known for in a recording, but To The Wind And On To Heaven does. I really wouldn’t characterize this project as “produced” or “slick” or “polished.” It is simply honest and fearless. And it is accessible. Listen, I know Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers or Those Poor Bastards are not for everyone, but when you hear Sunday Valley, you think, “Now THIS is what they should be playing on 98.1.”

Joey Allcorn, Judd Films, Legendary Shack Shakers, Marty Stuart, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Sturgill Simpson, Sunday Valley, To The Wind And On To Heaven

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