The Why Not? Tour has taken the country music scene aback.
Over the last five weeks, night after night, Sturgill Simpson has blown the minds of his audience, hypnotizing them with his talent and artistry.
The Kentucky Music Hall of Fame inductee has redefined what it means to be a musician. Since his 2013 debut record, High Top Mountain, he has constantly evolved his sound. His most recent project under his alias name, Johnny Blue Skies, opens a new chapter of music from Simpson. He kept much of the cosmic inspiration from his previous records while incorporating more blues and soft rock mixed with that ever-present country base.
Of course, on top of all those things, Simpson’s incredible songwriting shined brighter than ever on Passage Du Desir.
Just when you thought Simpson might have reached the peak of his musical return, he hit the road, bringing his old and new songs to life on stage. We’ve written several articles here at Whiskey Riff praising the work of Simpson’s tour, highlighting some of the incredible performances he’s given of his own songs and covering others’ songs throughout the tour.
However, when a fellow artist speaks up about how incredible and authentic your sets are, that is a compliment you take to the bank. Over the Why Not? Tour, I have seen many of his country music colleagues praising him for his mind-boggling sets where he jams out for nearly three hours, but Cole Chaney recently published a note about the show that captured our attention.
Chaney, a highly authentic artist himself, took to Facebook and penned a poem praising Simpson for his incredible performance.
“Last night, I watched an incredible performance.
No over the top light show, no sing-a-longs.
No fake ending the set fifteen minutes early so you have time to stage a multiple song encore (every single night).
No set breaks, no opener.
Hell, they didn’t even have a backdrop.
No autotune, no monologues, no rhinestones.
No backing tracks, no cowboy hats.
No bullshit.
Just a kick-ass band playing their kick-ass songs for three hours. straight.
A band who treated their audience like adults, not desperate for entertainment.
That band was Sturgill Simpson and company, in Huntington, West Virginia.
A breath of fresh air
In a world full of TikTok sensations
In a world of competition for the thirty-second attention span of the masses
In a world so desperately lacking in authenticity,
be a Sturgill.”
Reread those last few lines.
“In a world full of TikTok sensations
In a world of competition for the thirty-second attention span of the masses
In a world so desperately lacking in authenticity,
be a Sturgill.”
These words have never run more true.
In a world where our brains have the attention spans of goldfish, Simpson captivates his audiences for 100x longer. In a world where we can’t watch a TV show without glancing at our phones, Simpson creates a scene where his audience is dialed in on music. In a world where many artists are trying to fit a mold to make it big and win awards, Simpson is marching to the beat of his own drum and proving that you can succeed by doing things your way.
Props to Cole for eloquently writing what we’ve all been thinking as we have attended or watched clips from Sturgill Simpson shows.
Don’t sleep on Cole Chaney either… he’s the real deal:
