Ten years after the breakthrough success of his May 2014 album ‘Metamodern Sounds in Country Music’, Sturgill Simpson has not only announced his forthcoming eighth album – July 12’s ‘Passage Du Desir’ – under a new alias, Johnny Blue Skies, but also also a 28-date North American tour.
Famously, Simpson noted that he would only release five studio albums under his name. His Johnny Blue Skies debut is released via his own independent label, High Top Mountain Records. Simpson (credited as Johnny Blue Skies) and David Ferguson co-produced songs recorded in Nashville, Clement House Recording Studio in Tennessee and Abbey Road Studios in London.
“Passage Du Desir” is currently available for pre-order at shop.sturgillsimpson.com.
The Passage du Desir is a shopping district in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, a 20-minute drive east of the Eiffel Tower.
In a 2021 feature for Nashville Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, Simpson noted that he idealized a career free from making records that perpetuated a self-branded industry as a machine.
“To me that sounds like prison. It’s a job, you’re a politician.”
Instead, over the past decade he’s earned 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’.
As for the sound that could encompass his Johnny Blue Skies debut, he offered to The Tennessean in 2021 that he would “have something to say” and would be “really excited about” a “really great idea for a record.”
“I’ll put it this way: When I get back into the studio, it’s going to be because I’ve been thinking about the complete and total reinvention that I’m excited about,” Simpson said. ‘But it won’t be my name. I’m done with that.’
Sturgill Simpson tour 2024 tickets: what you need to know
Fans are asked to register before tickets go on sale. Registration for the presale is open until June 10 at 8:59 PM PT or 11:59 PM ET via sturgillsimpsonlive.com for early access to the artist presale starting June 12 at 10 AM local time. A limited number of tickets will be available to the general public on June 14 at 10am local time, while supplies last.
Sturgill Simpson tour 2024 dates
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August 9-11 – San Francisco @ Outside Lands Festival
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September 14 – Los Angeles @ The Greek Theater
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September 15 – Santa Barbara, California @ Santa Barbara Bowl
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September 17 – West Valley City, Utah @ Maverik Center
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September 19 – Bend, Oregon @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater
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September 20 – George, Washington @ The Gorge Amphitheater
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September 22 – Missoula, Montana @ KettleHouse Amphitheatre
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September 24 – Moorhead, Minnesota @ Bluestem Center for the Arts Amphitheater
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September 25 – Minneapolis @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
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September 27 – Lexington, KY @ Rupp Arena
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September 28 – Detroit @ Fox Theater
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October 1 – Chicago @ Salt Shed
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October 2 – Chicago @ Salt Shed
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October 4 – Brandon, Missouri @ The Brandon Amphitheater
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October 4-6 – Austin, Texas @ Austin City Limits Music Festival
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October 8 – Oklahoma City @ Criterion
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October 9 – Rogers, Arkansas @ Walmart AMP
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October 11-13 – Austin, Texas @ Austin City Limits Music Festival
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October 15 – St. Louis @ Fabulous Fox Theater
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October 18 – Pittsburgh @ Petersen Events Center
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October 19 – Forest Hills, New York @ Forest Hills Stadium
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October 21 – Ashville, North Carolina @ ExploreAsheville.com Arena
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October 22 – Cary, North Carolina @ Koka Booth Amphitheater
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October 24 – Duluth, Georgia @ Gas South Arena
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October 25 – Nashville, Tennessee @ Bridgestone Arena
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November 12 – Philadelphia @ The Met
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November 15 – Hampton, Virginia @ Hampton Coliseum
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November 18 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
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November 20 – Toronto @ Massey Hall
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November 21 – Toronto @ Massey Hall
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November 23 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Is Sturgill Simpson releasing a new album? Tour information and what you need to know
