Respected, beloved and fiercely independent, Sturgill Simpson is set to make his highly anticipated return to music this year with the release of the forthcoming full-length album, Passage Du Desir, under a new name, Johnny Blue Skies. The eight-song album was produced by Johnny Blue Skies and David Ferguson and recorded at Clement House Recording Studio in Nashville, TN and Abbey Road Studios in London, England.

Simpson and his band—Kevin Black (bass), Robbie Crowell (keys), Laur Joamets (guitar) and Miles Miller (drums)—will also make their long-awaited return to the road this fall with the “Why Not? Tour.” Simpson’s first full tour in over four years, the extensive 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 among many more. Simpson will also headline Outside Lands and Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Since his debut, 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. Throughout his singular career, Simpson has relentlessly pushed against expectations, earning widespread acclaim and countless accolades including a Grammy Award in 2017 for Best Country Album and six Grammy nominations across four genres: country, rock, bluegrass and americana.