Sturgill Simpson to release new album under a new name, embark on 2024 concert tour
A decade following the breakout success of his May 2014-released album "Metamodern Sounds in Country Music," Sturgill Simpson has announced not just his forthcoming eighth album — July 12's "Passage Du Desir" — under a new alias, Johnny Blue Skies, but also a 28-date North American tour.
Famously, Simpson noted he would only release five studio albums under his name. His Johnny Blue Skies debut will be released via his own independent label, High Top Mountain Records. Simpson (credited as Johnny Blue Skies) and David Ferguson co-produced songs recorded at Nashville, Tennessee's Clement House Recording Studio and London's Abbey Road Studios.
"Passage Du Desir" is currently available for pre-order at shop.sturgillsimpson.com.
The Passage du Desir is a shopping district in downtown Paris' 10th arrondissement, or district, located a 20-minute drive east of the Eiffel Tower.
In a 2021 feature for the Nashville Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, Simpson noted that he idealized a career in which he was free of making records that sustained a self-branded industry as a machine.
"To me, that sounds like prison. It's a job, you're a politician."
Instead, the past decade has seen him achieve Grammy-winning acclaim for five full-length studio albums, two COVID-19 quarantine bluegrass projects — "Cuttin' Grass Vol. 1 and Vol. 2" — and acting in film and television roles, including "The Dead Don't Die," "Queen & Slim," "Killers of the Flower Moon," and "The Righteous Gemstones."
Regarding the sound that his Johnny Blue Skies debut could encompass, he offered to The Tennessean in 2021 that he would need to "(have) something to say" and be "really excited about" a "really great idea for a record."
"I'll put it this way, if I go back into the studio it'll be because I thought of the complete and total reinvention that gets me excited," Simpson said. "But it won't be my name. I'm done with that all that."
Sturgill Simpson tour 2024 tickets: What you need to know
Fans are being asked to register before tickets go on sale. Registration for the pre-sale is open until June 10 at 8:59 p.m. PT or 11:59 p.m. ET via sturgillsimpsonlive.com for early access to the artist pre-sale starting June 12 at 10 a.m. local time. A limited number of tickets will be available for the general public on June 14 at 10 a.m. local time while supplies last.
Sturgill Simpson tour 2024 dates
Aug. 9-11 – San Francisco @ Outside Lands Festival
Sept. 14 – Los Angeles @ The Greek Theatre
Sept. 15 – Santa Barbara, California @ Santa Barbara Bowl
Sept. 17 – West Valley City, Utah @ Maverik Center
Sept. 19 – Bend, Oregon @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater
Sept. 20 – George, Washington @ The Gorge Amphitheatre
Sept. 22 – Missoula, Montana @ KettleHouse Amphitheater
Sept. 24 – Moorhead, Minnesota @ Bluestem Center for the Arts Amphitheater
Sept. 25 – Minneapolis @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
Sept. 27 – Lexington, Kentucky @ Rupp Arena
Sept. 28 – Detroit @ Fox Theatre
Oct. 1 – Chicago @ Salt Shed
Oct. 2 – Chicago @ Salt Shed
Oct. 4 – Brandon, Missouri @ The Brandon Amphitheater
Oct. 4-6 – Austin, Texas @ Austin City Limits Music Festival
Oct. 8 – Oklahoma City @ Criterion
Oct. 9 – Rogers, Arkansas @ Walmart AMP
Oct. 11-13 – Austin, Texas @ Austin City Limits Music Festival
Oct. 15 – St. Louis @ Fabulous Fox Theatre
Oct. 18 – Pittsburgh @ Petersen Events Center
Oct. 19 – Forest Hills, New York @ Forest Hills Stadium
Oct. 21 – Ashville, North Carolina @ ExploreAsheville.com Arena
Oct. 22 – Cary, North Carolina @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre
Oct. 24 – Duluth, Georgia @ Gas South Arena
Oct. 25 – Nashville, Tennessee @ Bridgestone Arena
Nov. 12 – Philadelphia @ The Met
Nov. 15 – Hampton, Virginia @ Hampton Coliseum
Nov. 18 – Washington, D.C. @ The Anthem
Nov. 20 – Toronto @ Massey Hall
Nov. 21 – Toronto @ Massey Hall
Nov. 23 – Boston, Massachusetts @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Sturgill Simpson tour: Tickets, and what to know about his new album