Sturgill Simpson

Sturgill Simpson emerged as the defining figure in 21st-century outlaw country, charting an independent path that rejected conventions from both contemporary and traditional country. His 2013 debut High Top Mountain evoked the robust swagger of Waylon Jennings, yet the 2014 follow-up Metamodern Sounds in Country Music revealed that Simpson operated beyond the confines of country or Americana. Neo-psychedelic elements in both the title and sound of Metamodern Sounds in Country Music merely foreshadowed the range the singer/songwriter would explore. The 2016 arty concept album A Sailor's Guide to Earth blended soul and symphonic pop with such boldness that it secured a 2017 Grammy for Best Country Album, confirming his role at the forefront of Americana and roots rock. Although he pursued bold detours including the fuzz-heavy 2019 release Sound & Fury, Simpson returned to his bluegrass origins on the 2020 Cuttin' Grass projects and the traditional country effort The Ballad of Dood and Juanita.

Born in Jackson, Kentucky and raised near Lexington, Simpson carries strong Southern ties yet relocated westward upon reaching his late teens. He launched Sunday Valley in 2004 and gained significant exposure when the band performed at Portland, Oregon's Pickathon Festival in 2011. Going solo in 2012, he began recording what became High Top Mountain, issued the next year. Following extensive touring he focused on his subsequent studio work, pushing genre limits while examining subjects such as physics and evolution, as heard on the advance single "Turtles (All the Way Down)." Produced by Dave Cobb, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music arrived in May 2014, reaching the Top Ten across country charts and earning a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album. That year Simpson also received Best Emerging Artist at the Americana Music Awards, followed by the same organization's Artist of the Year honor in 2015.

March 2016 brought the lead single "Brace for Impact (Live a Little)" ahead of the April arrival of A Sailor's Guide to Earth. Self-produced and featuring the Dap-Kings as guests, the album drew widespread acclaim and an unexpected nomination for the Grammys' Album of the Year; although it did not win that prize, A Sailor's Guide to Earth took Best Country Album at the 2017 Grammy Awards.

Throughout 2017 Simpson maintained a lower profile, performing both independently and as an opener for Guns N' Roses while producing Tyler Childers' debut Purgatory. In 2018 he ventured into acting, an interest that shaped his subsequent project Sound & Fury. This noisy foray into sci-fi rock & roll appeared in September 2019 alongside an accompanying anime film. October 2020 saw the release of the Grammy-nominated Cuttin' Grass, Vol. 1: The Butcher Shoppe Sessions, presenting bluegrass renditions of material from his first three solo albums plus several Sunday Valley tracks. A second volume, subtitled The Cowboy Arms Sessions, followed in December.

Simpson moved directly from the Cuttin' Grass sets to the Grammy-nominated The Ballad of Dood and Juanita, a country & western concept album issued in August 2021.