Sturgill Simpson Shakes Up Spring Tour with Intimate 38-Song Surprise Set and First “You Can Have the Crown” Since 2015
“STURGILL SIMPSON ::: Grandoozy 2018” by Julio Enriquez is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Sturgill Simpson is a man of action. Just over a decade into his recording career, in which he’s continually subverted expectations with each new album, the pioneering progressive-country phenomenon continues to surprise fans on stage night after night. On Monday, April 7, Simpson brought on another plot twist with a surprise performance at Austin, Texas’ Stubbs Bar-B-Q, which saw him serve up a sprawling three-and-a-half-hour, 38-song marathon set at the intimate local staple.
Simpson’s surprise set arrived as the second headline date in his “Who the Fuck is Johnny Blue Skies?” Spring Tour and a sample of the sort of shows he’ll be bringing on for the rest of the run. After cancelling upcoming arena stands in Orange Beach, Ala. and Spokane, Wash. with a message that “the band has decided to play smaller club shows in select cities,” he stepped into the spotlight of a stage he frequented on his rise through the ranks–now hardly a tenth of the capacity of some of his stadium engagements.
With this return to his roots, it was only fitting that he turn up a long-unheard gem from his discography off the bat, opening with his first public performance of “You Can Have the Crown” since 2015. Drawn from his self-funded 2013 debut album High Top Mountain, the track he famously regrets recording remains among his most popular songs and brought the close-quarters crowd to a roar. Simpson channeled this momentum into an expansive exploration of his catalog, touching on long treasured albums like Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, Sound & Fury and The Ballad of Dood and Juanita alongside all but two selections from his 2024 Johnny Blue Skies album Passage Du Desir.
He garnished the heaping presentation with 11 eclectic covers, returning to celebrated alternative-country reimaginings including The Promise’s “When In Rome,” the Allman Brothers Band’s “Midnight Rider,” Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” Neil Diamond’s “Red Red Wine,” The Doors’ “L.A. Woman,” William Bell’s “You Don’t Miss Your Water,” Moore & Napier’s “Long White Line,” Lefty Frizzell’s “I Never Go Around Mirrors,” Prince’s “Purple Rain.” Highlights from the evening came with renditions of Eddie Murphy’s 1985 synth bop “Party All the Time” and Rage Against the Machine’s storming “Bulls on Parade,” merged with “Best Clockmaker on Mars” for its second-ever staging.
Simpson will return to the stage tomorrow, April 10, for a performance at Birmingham, Ala.’s Legacy Arena at the BJCC. For tickets and his full tour itinerary, visit sturgillsimpson.com/#tour.
Check out fan-recorded videos from the show below, and read on for the full setlist.
Sturgill Simpson
Stubbs Bar-B-Q – Austin, Texas
4/7/24
Set: You Can Have the Crown*, Life Ain’t Fair and the World Is Mean, Railroad of Sin, The Promise (When in Rome), Voices, Midnight Rider (Allman Brothers Band), Welcome to Earth (Pollywog), It Ain’t All Flowers, Party All the Time (Eddie Murphy), Best Clockmaker on Mars > Bulls On Parade, A Whiter Shade of Pale (Procol Harum), I Don’t Mind, Mint Tea, Brace for Impact (Live a Little), Red Red Wine (Neil Diamond), Just Let Go, A Good Look, L.A. Woman (The Doors), You Don’t Miss Your Water (William Bell), Fastest Horse in Town, I’d Have to Be Crazy (Steven Fromholz), Right Kind of Dream, All Said and Done, Long White Line (Moore & Napier), Sing Along, All Around You, I Never Go Around Mirrors (Lefty Frizzell), Turtles All the Way Down, Living the Dream, If the Sun Never Rises Again, Jupiter’s Faerie, Scooter Blues, Water in a Well, Juanita, Life of Sin, One for the Road, Purple Rain (Prince), Call to Arms
Notes:
* LTP November 5, 2015
