HOLD YER HORSES.
It’s safe to say that Sturgill Simpson has never done anything conventionally. From his long history of switching genres seemingly at will to abandoning his name and being reborn as Johnny Blue Skies back in 2024 upon the release of Passage du Desir, you truly never know what to expect with the “Long White Line” singer.
This year, we saw Simpson embark on his most ambitious release to date with the second album under Johnny Blue Skies (and the Dark Clouds), Mutiny After Midnight.
In case you haven’t been keeping up with the Kentucky native’s somewhat convoluted rollout of the album, let me give you a brief rundown.
Back on February 13th, Simpson would turn heads by officially announcing Mutiny After Midnight’s release on March 13th. With that being said, there was a catch — it would be released exclusively on physical media, only having a CD, vinyl and cassette release. In a bold move, however, on Sunday, March 1st, Simpson ended up posting the album early. Essentially “leaking” his own album nearly two weeks early, the “Swamp of Sadness” singer posted the entirety of Mutiny After Midnight onto YouTube. In typical Sturgill fashion, he simply left this message on social media to guide all of his fans to the early release:
“Ooops…. might’ve just posted the whole fuk’n album on YouTube…. for the real ones.”
The album would then spend eight days on YouTube before getting taken down, once again making March 13th Mutiny After Midnight’s “official” release date.
When March 13th rolled around, the record was officially released on physical media as intended, and it was glorious. Easily the most ambitious album from Simpson to date, Mutiny After Midnight proved to be his most unique project to date. Being chock full of groovy basslines, extended guitar solos and some of the wildest lyrics I’ve heard in some time, it once again proved why the “I Don’t Mind” singer has remained one of the greatest, boundary-pushing artists of the current generation.
Obviously, the decision to release an album on physical media only was a bit of a gamble, but it ended up paying dividends for Simpson. Last Sunday, Mutiny After Midnight debuted at #3 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, selling 59,000 total units (all physical, of course) in its first week. In turn, it became the first album exclusively available on physical formats to reach the top 10 in nearly three years. Additionally, it would go #1 on Billboard’s Top Rock & Alternative, Americana/Folk Albums, Top Album Sales, Indie Store Album Sales and Vinyl Albums charts.
With fans buzzing about the new album and anxiously waiting to hear all the new tracks jammed live, the only thing left to do was announce a tour, and today is finally the day.
Just announced, Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds are officially setting sail on a brand new tour later this year, aptly titled Mutiny For The Masses, which will stretch across 29 shows in North America in September and October.
Mutiny For The Masses will kick off on September 4th at Austin’s Moody Center before finishing at Lexington, Kentucky’s Rupp Arena on Halloween weekend, October 30th. Along the way, JBS & the Dark Clouds will be hitting the likes of Los Angeles’ Kia Forum, Chicago’s United Center, Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, New York City’s Barclays Center, Boston’s TD Garden, Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena and many more.
Like usual, Sturgil and Co. will be forgoing an opening act for each stop in the tour, promising it will be just the band “rocking as hard and relentlessly as possible for every minute possible.”
General on-sale for Mutiny For The Masses begins at 10 a.m. local time on Friday, April 10th, with presales starting at 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday, April 8th. In an attempt to combat scalpers, tour will be using Ticketmaster Face Value Exchange and AXS Resale where, if needed, you can resell your ticket to other fans at the original price paid.
It should go without saying at this point that when Sturgill announces a tour, it should be your number one priority for the year, concert-wise. There’s plenty of stellar live acts across the genre, but no one is quite doing it like JBS & the Dark Clouds lately. Expect three straight hours of non-stop face-melting with some of the best jam sessions you’ll hear live all year.
Mutiny For The Masses Tour Dates
Sep 4 -Austin, TX -Moody Center
Sep 6 -Rio Rancho, NM -Rio Rancho Events Center
Sep 8 -Glendale, AZ -Desert Diamond Arena
Sep 9 -Santa Barbara, CA -Santa Barbara Bowl
Sep 11 -Inglewood, CA -Kia Forum
Sep 13 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena
Sep 15 – Berkeley, CA – The Greek Theatre
Sep 18 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Sep 19 – Vancouver, BC – Pacific Coliseum
Sep 21 – Eugene, OR – Matthew Knight Arena
Sep 23 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Sep 26 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
Sep 27 – St. Paul, MN – Grand Casino Arena
Sep 29 -Chicago, IL – United Center
Oct 2 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Oct 3 – Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Oct 6 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
Oct 7 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
Oct 9 – Pittsburgh, PA – Petersen Events Center
Oct 10 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Oct 13 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Oct 15 – Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena
Oct 16 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
Oct 18 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
Oct 21 – Raleigh, NC – Lenovo Center
Oct 23 – Charleston, SC – Credit One Stadium
Oct 25 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Oct 27 – New Orleans, LA – Lakefront Arena
Oct 30 – Lexington, KY – Rupp Arena
