Sturgill Simpson Makes Surprise Live Return With Latest Johnny Blue Skies Album, Talking Heads Cover

Sturgill Simpson might have a complicated, contentious relationship with the Nashville country music industry, but he's not going to let that stop him from playing a wild surprise show in the town. Earlier this year, Simpson, working under his Johnny Blue Skies album, released the horny, exultant country-rock-disco-funk party album Mutiny After Midnight, which is now on streaming (with a bonus Eddie Murphy cover) after only being available on physical editions for a while. Next month, Simpson and his band Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds will head out on an arena tour. On Wednesday night, they warmed up for that run by playing a surprise gig in a small Nashville room.Simpson and his band's warm-up show was at the Cobra, a 200-cap venue in East Nashville. This was their first live show in nearly a year, and they only announced it two hours ahead of time. They played the entire Mutiny After Midnight album, performing those songs live for the first time, as well as a bunch of covers, including some that they'd never done before. They also had an exotic dancer pole-dancing up onstage with them.Simpson's live shows have recently included a bunch of covers, and last night was no e...