Those chilly winds are blowing us back to Mexico for another unforgettable experience! Dead Ahead Festival returns to the breathtaking Riviera Cancun from January 9-13, 2025, offering five nights of music in paradise. The centerpiece of the event will be three incredible nights of collaboration as Dead Ahead Fest featuring a powerhouse lineup: Sturgill Simpson, Rick Mitarotonda, Jeff Chimenti, Oteil Burbridge, Don Was, and Jay Lane, along with special guests Brittney Spencer, Grace Bowers, and the incomparable Brandi Carlile.

As the fog turned to rain and then back to fog, the ominous tone set by the weather created a fitting mood for a climactic end to the festival. The third day of Outside Lands largely focused on genres born in our own backyard. From living legends with decades of experience revolutionizing their genres to fresh faces who have seemingly appeared out of nowhere to define this year’s summer soundtrack, there was an undeniable spotlight on artists representing their roots in the American Midwest and South.

High Top Mountain Records proudly announces the release of "Passage Du Desir," the much-anticipated new studio album from Johnny Blue Skies, available now for streaming and purchase. This album marks the beginning of a new era for the artist, formerly known as Sturgill Simpson, who had previously promised to release only five studio albums under his original name.

Due to incredible demand, Sturgill Simpson has announced the addition of two new stops on his highly anticipated fall “Why Not? Tour.” The newly added dates include performances at The Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, AL, on October 11, and Health Network Arena in Huntington, WV, on November 16. These “An Evening with Sturgill Simpson” concerts will be available for artist pre-sale starting Thursday, June 20 at 10:00 am local time (use code: STURGILL2024) with general on-sale commencing on Friday, June 21 at 10:00 am local time.

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.

Sturgill Simpson will make his long-awaited return to music this year with an extensive fall tour along with a new album under a new name, Johnny Blue Skies.

In celebration of its ten-year anniversary, a new special edition reissue of Sturgill Simpson’s landmark 2014 album, Metamodern Sounds In Country Music, is out today on High Top Mountain Records/Thirty Tigers (stream/purchase). 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.

Sturgill Simpson will headline this year's Outside Lands in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. This event marks the Grammy Award-winner’s first full show in three years. For his performance, Simpson will reunite with bassist Kevin Black, guitarist Laur Joamets, and drummer Miles Miller. The festival is scheduled for August 9-11, and tickets go on sale to the general public tomorrow, Wednesday, April 24 at 10:00 AM PT.

Sturgill Simpson’s landmark 2014 album, Metamodern Sounds In Country Music, will be reissued in celebration of its tenth anniversary on May 10 (pre-order). Originally released on 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.

Sturgill Simpson and Bob Weir made guest appearances during Orebolo's Friday night set on the opening day of Dead Ahead festival last night. Orebolo is a Goose acoustic side project featuring Rick Mitarotonda, Peter Anspach, and Jeff Arevalo (who plays drums for Goose but is on stand-up bass in this band).