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Every week, I profile a prominent individual who helps shape my perspective on life, business, and the world around me.
Last week I polled Twitter to figure out who I should profile next. Among this list of power players, an unassuming choice rose to the top.
I’m a man of the people, so here we go.
It was a blistering hot Saturday afternoon in Austin, Texas and I had tempered expectations for the musical acts ahead of us. I’m not a big festival guy, but I have a special place in my heart for Austin City Limits. I love live music, but I’m far from being deep in the music scene. My typical ACL strategy is to identify a friend who knows what’s up and follow them around the festival grounds. Inevitably, I always discover one or two shows that make the three days of festing totally worthwhile.
The highlight of ACL 2015 was my introduction to the mind-melting sounds of Sturgill Simpson. I wondered up to the stage with my buddy Aaron, who began explaining who Sturgill was and his unique genre of music. The limitations of human language prevented Aaron from sufficiently conveying what was about to happen. For those unfamiliar with Sturgill’s music, I won’t attempt to explain it, just watch this video before you continue:
Do you feel that? That’s the feeling of enlightenment. Your whole perspective on shit is forever changed. You now understand that you are part of a greater collective consciousness that connects all of God’s living creatures. You are simultaneously everything and you are nothing. Welcome my friend, we’ve been awaiting your arrival.
Don’t worry if you’re late to the party, the only thing that matters is that you’re here. In fact, if you’re new to Sturgill, you’re in good company. Our very own Dillon Chevererererere is a newly initiated member of the Church of Sturgill.
It took me too long to get into Sturgill but the guy flat brings it
— Dillon Cheverere (@DCheverere) February 14, 2017
While it’s tough to convey the full extent of Sturgill’s knowledge in written form, I will attempt to bestow upon you his wisdom through some of my favorite lyrics.
We’re dying to live
Living to die
No matter what you believe
And all of us cry
For the ones we must leaveSo go and live a little
Bone turns brittle
And skin withers before your eyes
Make sure you give a little
Before you go to the great unknown in the sky
Sturgill Simpson, “Brace For Impact (Live A Little)”
Keep your eyes on the prize
Everything will be fine
Long as you stay in school
Stay off the hard stuff
And keep between the lines
Sturgill Simpson, “Keep It Between The Lines”
If there’s any doubt, there is no doubt
The gut don’t never lie
Sturgill Simpson, “Keep It Between The Lines”
There will be days
When the sun won’t shine
When it seems like the whole world is against you
Don’t be afraid
Life is unkind
You can let go of the pain if you choose to
Sturgill Simpson, “All Around You”
It ain’t all flowers, sometimes you gotta feel the thorns
And when you play with the Devil you know you gonna get the horns
Sturgill Simpson, “It Ain’t All Flowers”
everything is not what it seems
This life is but a dream
Shatter illusions that hold your spirit down
Open up your heart and you’ll find love all around
Breathing and moving are healing
And soothing away
All the pain in life holding you down
Sturgill Simpson, “Breakers Roar”
I’ve been told you measure a man
By how much he loves
Sturgill Simpson, “Welcome To Earth (Pollywog)”
Our bond is eternal
And so is love
God is inside you
All around you
And up above
Sturgill Simpson, “All Around You”
Respond
Madison Wickham
#CoolDad / Husband | Founder / CEO of Grandex Inc
@madisonwickham
@madisonwickham
madisonwickham
Joe Rogan Experience with Sturgill is one of the best
Gonna have to check that out. Saw him open for Zac Brown Band in Vegas a couple years back. Love the song Oh Sarah. Beautiful haunting country song. The way Waylon used to make them.
Sturgill and Jason Isbell are two of my “need to see live” acts currently
I’ve seen Jason Isbell 3 times; fucking amazing shows. Sturgill is still on my bucket list though.
He’s headed out on tour this year. Not sure where all too but Houston tickets go on sale tomorrow morning. You might want to do some research on that for Red Rocks.
Seen Isbell 6 times (I have a problem) and Sturgill once. Go for it.
Sturgill is incredible, great choice.
I also love Ryan Holiday, what’s he done and his philosophy on life and business. His reading recs is one of my favorite emails to get each month.
I’ll put him on deck for next week
Would also like to throw a vote for Ryan holiday, I respect the shit out of that guy.
Sup?
I love Sturgill and am glad that he is getting all of his well deserved recognition. What I do hope though is that people who discover his music don’t just stop with him. I hope people dive deeper and find other incredible musicians who are out their grinding as well.
Agreed. Pretty excited Sturgill doesn’t give a shit about Nashville and is doing his own thing. What Nashville did to Chris Stapleton (“look, we do support outlaw country!”) was annoying to those who listened to him before the CMAs. Go down that Spotify rabbit hole and keep finding awesome artists not on the radio!
The fact that we call what Stapleton does “outlaw country” is annoying to me. In today’s world he is only outlaw bc he has an actual instrument in his hand, wears a cowboy hat and has a beard. In my day, we just called that country.
Saw a tweet that summed up the country music world’s thoughts on SS:
“Wow how about Sturgill Simpson at the Grammy’s! Anyway, here’s Florida Georgia Line for the 300th time.”
It’s a shame there are so many people so ignorant to the current real country singers out there because they’re so deafened by the garbage of the Bobby Bones Show and other “mainstream” country music stations.
I agree with what you’re saying. I think the outlaw tag gets thrown around because its the closest thing that we have to the actual outlaw movement of Waylon, Willie, Kristofferson, etc
Tons of folks out there, even Sturgill was the lead in a band called Sunday Valley. Thank me later if you haven’t heard of Sunday Valley before.
Sturgill and Stapleton are real country, I can’t stand this pop shit nowadays.
Don’t just stop at A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, go check out his first two albums, bounce off old-school Ryan Bingham, dive into Hayes Carll, flounder around with Shovels and Rope, and then somehow stumble into William Elliott Whitmore, John Moreland, and Justin Townes Earle.
Gotta throw in the obligatory plug for Turnpike Troubadours for those of you into real music.
Breaker’s Roar never ceases to give me chills. I wanted nothing more than for him to take album of the year at the Grammy’s just to shut the world up, but I’m glad he’s finally getting recognition.
Well they call me king turtle up here on shit mountain if you want it you can have the crown
I found Sturgill on a trip to Marfa with the lady. Listened to his new album on repeat the entire 5 days we were there and now we can’t break up. I know if we do I won’t ever be able to listen to that album again which is just not an option.
Sturg sings the truth