Due to overwhelming pre-sale demand, Sturgill Simpson has added second nights to three of his fall “Why Not? Tour” stops—St. Louis’ Fabulous Fox Theatre on October 16, Philadelphia’s The Met on November 13 and Boston’s MGM Music Hall at Fenway on November 24. The three new “An Evening with Sturgill Simpson” concerts will be available for pre-sale beginning tomorrow (Thursday, June 13) at 10:00am local time with general on-sale Friday, June 14 at 10:00am local time.
Simpson’s first full tour in over four years, the extensive headline run will feature Simpson and his band—Kevin Black (bass), Robbie Crowell (keys), Laur Joamets (guitar) and Miles Miller (drums)—and includes previously announced stops at L.A.’s The Greek Theatre, Washington State’s The Gorge Amphitheatre, Lexington’s Rupp Arena, Chicago’s Salt Shed (two nights), Queens’ Forest Hills Stadium and Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena among many more. Artist pre-sale for the tour began this morning with a limited number of tickets going on-sale to the general public on Friday at 10:00AM local time at sturgillsimpsonlive.com, while supplies last.
Of note, the “Why Not? Tour” has opted out of using dynamic ticket pricing with the intention of doing everything in their power to keep tickets in the hands of fans and out of the hands of scalpers. They are vetting pre-sale sign ups for bad actors, implementing Face Value Exchange and limited platinum ticketing to combat scalpers and out of control prices.
After promising to release only five studio albums under his own name, Simpson marks the beginning of a new era with Johnny Blue Skies and the release of Passage Du Desir. Out July 12 on his own independent label, High Top Mountain Records (pre-order), the album includes eight songs produced by Johnny Blue Skies and David Ferguson and recorded at Clement House Recording Studio in Nashville, TN and Abbey Road Studios in London, England.
The new album follows the tenth anniversary reissue of Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, which came out last month. Originally released May 13, 2014, the album marked a career breakthrough for Simpson personally and proved to be a seismic shift-maker within the larger country music genre. The new special edition features a fully reimagined album cover and vinyl package, pressed on 180g Black Vinyl with an “Old-Style” Tip-On Jacket. Ushering in a new chapter within country music and setting the stage for countless other outsider artists to push the genre forward for years to come, the lasting impact of Metamodern continues to be felt today. In a recent piece reflecting on the album’s influence and importance, Marissa Moss writes in Rolling Stone, “Ten years since its release, Simpson’s 2014 masterpiece Metamodern Sounds in Country Music continues to redefine what’s possible in Nashville,” and continues, “Metamodern is an album that shows how the best music can come when you’re respectful of the past but fearless about the future.”
Since his debut, Simpson has released five full-length studio albums—2013’s High Top Mountain, 2014’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, 2016’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, 2019’s Sound & Fury and 2021’s The Ballad of Dood and Juanita—along with the 2020 projects, Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Throughout his singular career, Simpson has relentless pushed against expectations, earning widespread acclaim and countless accolades including a Grammy Award in 2017 for Best Country Album and six Grammy nominations across four genres: country, rock, bluegrass and americana.
In addition to his work as a musician, Simpson has acted in film and television, including roles in The Dead Don’t Die, Queen & Slim, Killers of the Flower Moon and The Righteous Gemstones.
PASSAGE DU DESIR TRACK LIST
1. Swamp of Sadness
2. If The Sun Never Rises Again
3. Scooter Blues
4. Jupiter’s Faerie
5. Who I Am
6. Right Kind of Dream
7. Mint Tea
8. One for the Road
STURGILL SIMPSON CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
BOLD newly added second nights
August 9-11—San Francisco, CA—Outside Lands
September 14—Los Angeles, CA—The Greek Theatre*
September 15—Santa Barbara, CA—Santa Barbara Bowl*
September 17—West Valley City, UT—Maverik Center*
September 19—Bend, OR—Hayden Homes Amphitheater*
September 20—George, WA—The Gorge Amphitheatre†
September 22—Missoula, MT—KettleHouse Amphitheater*
September 24—Moorhead, MN—Bluestem Center for the Arts Amphitheater*
September 25—Minneapolis, MN—Roy Wilkins Auditorium*
September 27—Lexington, KY—Rupp Arena*
September 28—Detroit, MI—Fox Theatre*
October 1—Chicago, IL—Salt Shed*
October 2—Chicago, IL—Salt Shed*
October 4—Brandon, MS—The Brandon Amphitheater*
October 4-6—Austin, TX—Austin City Limits Music Festival
October 8—Oklahoma City, OK—Criterion*
October 9—Rogers, AR—Walmart AMP*
October 11-13—Austin, TX—Austin City Limits Music Festival
October 15—St. Louis, MO—Fabulous Fox Theatre*
October 16—St. Louis, MO—Fabulous Fox Theatre*
October 18—Pittsburgh, PA—Petersen Events Center*
October 19—Forest Hills, NY—Forest Hills Stadium‡
October 21—Asheville, NC—ExploreAsheville.com Arena*
October 22—Cary, NC—Koka Booth Amphitheatre*
October 24—Duluth, GA—Gas South Arena*
October 25—Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena*
November 12—Philadelphia, PA—The Met*
November 13—Philadelphia, PA—The Met*
November 15—Hampton, VA—Hampton Coliseum*
November 18—Washington, DC—The Anthem*
November 20—Toronto, ON—Massey Hall*
November 21—Toronto, ON—Massey Hall*
November 23—Boston, MA—MGM Music Hall at Fenway*
November 24—Boston, MA—MGM Music Hall at Fenway*
*“An Evening with Sturgill Simpson”
†with very special guest Lord Huron
‡very special guest Durand Jones
