Simpson, aka Johnny Blue Skies, surfaces with new disc, tour

After promising to release only five studio albums under his own name, Simpson aka Johnny Blue Skies releases "Passage Du Desir" on July 12 on his own independent label, High Top Mountain Records .

The disc includes eight songs produced by Simpson and David Ferguson and recorded at Clement House Recording Studio in Nashville and Abbey Road Studios in London.

The track list is:
1.Swamp of Sadness
2. If The Sun Never Rises Again
3. Scooter Blues
4. Jupiter's Faerie
5. Who I Am
6. Right Kind of Dream
7. Mint Tea
8. One for the Road

In addition to headlining sets at Outside Lands and Austin City Limits Music Festival, Simpson and his band — Kevin Black (bass), Robbie Crowell (keys), Laur Joamets (guitar) and Miles Miller (drums) — will return to the road for the "Why Not? Tour" this fall.

Simpson's first full tour in over four years, the 28-date headline run includes stops at L.A.'s The Greek Theatre, Washington State's The Gorge Amphitheatre, Lexington's Rupp Arena, Chicago's Salt Shed (two nights), Queens' Forest Hills Stadium and Nashville's Bridgestone Arena.

Registration for the pre-sale is open now until Monday, June 10 at 11:59 p.m. eastern time at sturgillsimpsonlive.com to receive exclusive early access to the artist pre-sale starting next Wednesday, June 12 at 10 a.m. local. Tickets will be available for the general on-sale on Friday, June 14 at 10 a.m. local time at sturgillsimpsonlive.com. San Francisco and Austin dates are not part of the pre-sale or sale.

Tour dates are:
Aug. 9-11—San Francisco, CA—Outside Lands
Sept. 14—Los Angeles, CA—The Greek Theatre*
Sept. 15—Santa Barbara, CA—Santa Barbara Bowl*
Sept. 17—West Valley City, UT—Maverik Center*
Sept. 19—Bend, OR—Hayden Homes Amphitheater*
Sept. 20—George, WA—The Gorge Amphitheatre !
Sept. 22—Missoula, MT—KettleHouse Amphitheater*
Sept. 24—Moorhead, MN—Bluestem Center for the Arts Amphitheater*
Sept. 25—Minneapolis, MN—Roy Wilkins Auditorium*
Sept. 27—Lexington, KY—Rupp Arena*
Sept. -228—Detroit, MI—Fox Theatre*
Oct. 1—Chicago, IL—Salt Shed*
Oct. 4—Brandon, MS—The Brandon Amphitheater*
Oct. 4-6—Austin, TX—Austin City Limits Music Festival
Oct. 8—Oklahoma City, OK—Criterion*
Oct. 9—Rogers, AR—Walmart AMP*
Oct. 11-13—Austin, TX—Austin City Limits Music Festival
Oct. 15—St. Louis, MO—Fabulous Fox Theatre*
Oct. 18—Pittsburgh, PA—Petersen Events Center*
Oct. 19—Forest Hills, NY—Forest Hills Stadium
Oct. 21—Asheville, NC—ExploreAsheville.com Arena*
Oct. 22—Cary, NC—Koka Booth Amphitheatre*
Oct. 24—Duluth, GA—Gas South Arena*
Oct. 25—Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena*
Nov. 12—Philadelphia, PA—The Met*
Nov. 15—Hampton, VA—Hampton Coliseum*
Nov. 18—Washington, DC—The Anthem*
Nov. 20-21—Toronto, ON—Massey Hall*
Nov. 23—Boston, MA—MGM Music Hall at Fenway*
* "An Evening with Sturgill Simpson"
! with very special guest Lord Huron

The new album follows the 10th anniversary reissue of Simpson's "Metamodern Sounds in Country Music," which came out last month. Originally released May 13, 2014, the album marked a career breakthrough for Simpson personally and proved to be a seismic shift-maker within the larger country music genre.

Simpson has released five full-length studio albums — 2013's "High Top Mountain," 2014's "Metamodern Sounds in Country Music," 2016's "A Sailor's Guide to Earth," 2019's "Sound & Fury" and 2021's "The Ballad of Dood and Juanita" along with the 2020 projects, "Cuttin' Grass Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2."

Simpson also has acted in film and television, including roles in The Dead Don't Die, Queen & Slim, Killers of the Flower Moon and The Righteous Gemstones.