Sturgill Simpson to release new album under a new name, embark on 2024 concert tour

A decade following the breakout success of his May 2014-released album "Metamodern Sounds in Country Music," Sturgill Simpson has announced not just his forthcoming eighth album — July 12's "Passage Du Desir" — under a new alias, Johnny Blue Skies, but also a 28-date North American tour.

Famously, Simpson noted he would only release five studio albums under his name. His Johnny Blue Skies debut will be released via his own independent label, High Top Mountain Records. Simpson (credited as Johnny Blue Skies) and David Ferguson co-produced songs recorded at Nashville, Tennessee's Clement House Recording Studio and London's Abbey Road Studios.

"Passage Du Desir" is currently available for pre-order at shop.sturgillsimpson.com.

The Passage du Desir is a shopping district in downtown Paris' 10th arrondissement, or district, located a 20-minute drive east of the Eiffel Tower.

In a 2021 feature for theNashville Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, Simpson noted that he idealized a career in which he was free of making records that sustained a self-branded industry as a machine.

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"To me, that sounds like prison. It's a job, you're a politician."

Instead, the past decade has seen him achieve 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."

Regarding the sound that his Johnny Blue Skies debut could encompass, he offered to The Tennessean in 2021 that he would need to "(have) something to say" and be "really excited about" a "really great idea for a record." 

"I'll put it this way, if I go back into the studio it'll be because I thought of the complete and total reinvention that gets me excited," Simpson said. "But it won't be my name. I'm done with that all that."

Sturgill Simpson tour 2024 tickets: What you need to know

Fans are being asked to register before tickets go on sale. Registration for the pre-sale is open until June 10 at 8:59 p.m. PT or 11:59 p.m. ET via sturgillsimpsonlive.com for early access to the artist pre-sale starting June 12 at 10 a.m. local time. A limited number of tickets will be available for the general public on June 14 at 10 a.m. local time while supplies last.

Sturgill Simpson tour 2024 dates

• Aug. 9-11 – San Francisco @ Outside Lands Festival
• Sept. 14 – Los Angeles @ The Greek Theatre
• Sept. 15 – Santa Barbara, California @ Santa Barbara Bowl
• Sept. 17 – West Valley City, Utah @ Maverik Center
• Sept. 19 – Bend, Oregon @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater
• Sept. 20 – George, Washington @ The Gorge Amphitheatre
• Sept. 22 – Missoula, Montana @ KettleHouse Amphitheater
• Sept. 24 – Moorhead, Minnesota @ Bluestem Center for the Arts Amphitheater
• Sept. 25 – Minneapolis @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
• Sept. 27 – Lexington, Kentucky @ Rupp Arena
• Sept. 28 – Detroit @ Fox Theatre
• Oct. 1 – Chicago @ Salt Shed
• Oct. 2 – Chicago @ Salt Shed
• Oct. 4 – Brandon, Missouri @ The Brandon Amphitheater
• Oct. 4-6 – Austin, Texas @ Austin City Limits Music Festival
• Oct. 8 – Oklahoma City @ Criterion
• Oct. 9 – Rogers, Arkansas @ Walmart AMP
• Oct. 11-13 – Austin, Texas @ Austin City Limits Music Festival
• Oct. 15 – St. Louis @ Fabulous Fox Theatre
• Oct. 18 – Pittsburgh @ Petersen Events Center
• Oct. 19 – Forest Hills, New York @ Forest Hills Stadium
• Oct. 21 – Ashville, North Carolina @ ExploreAsheville.com Arena
• Oct. 22 – Cary, North Carolina @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre
• Oct. 24 – Duluth, Georgia @ Gas South Arena
• Oct. 25 – Nashville, Tennessee @ Bridgestone Arena
• Nov. 12 – Philadelphia @ The Met
• Nov. 15 – Hampton, Virginia @ Hampton Coliseum
• Nov. 18 – Washington, D.C. @ The Anthem
• Nov. 20 – Toronto @ Massey Hall
• Nov. 21 – Toronto @ Massey Hall
• Nov. 23 – Boston, Massachusetts @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway

Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY

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