Sturgill Simpson at The Criterion in Oklahoma City
Sturgill Simpson, aka Johnny Blue Skies, brought his 2024 Why Not? Tour to Oklahoma City’s The Criterion in the heart of the city’s Bricktown downtown area, touring in support of his brilliant new Passage du Desir album for a sold out, absolutely jam packed evening of music.
This was Simpson’s first time back to OKC and The Criterion since his first visit at the same venue back in 2016 on his massive A Sailor’s Guide to Earth tour. That appearance had been impressive, a lengthy 23 song set, that included A Sailor’s Guide… played in its entirety, and remains one of my favorite shows that I’ve ever seen. I’d always hoped I’d get the chance to see Simpson again, but following that tour, road fatigue, a vocal injury, a self imposed five album plan and a global pandemic settled in, resulting in a 2020 Tulsa date and subsequent Sound and Fury tour being canceled.
When I said earlier that this was a jam packed evening, I mean that with every sense of the phrase. Simpson and band delivered a three hour and 15 minute, non-stop concert, blistering through a total of 34 songs, give or take, depending how you define jams/teases. It was a virtual “greatest hits” type career retrospective, representing songs from Simpson’s entire catalog as well as a smorgasbord of cover songs and extended jams. Six songs from Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, five from Passage du Desir and four from Sound and Fury with odds and ends from other albums making up nearly half of the night’s set. Standouts for me included “Living the Dream,” “Juanita,” “Just Let Go,” “It Ain’t All Flowers,” “Brace for Impact (Live a Little).” and the raucous set closer, “Call to Arms.”
The remainder of the night’s songs consisted of previous cover songs from Simpson’s albums, such as When in Rome‘s “The Promise,” or “Long White Line” and “Pinball Blues” by Moore and Napier, William Bell’s “You Don’t Miss Your Water” and a whole slew of 70’s radio gems that have debuted this tour, like Procul Harem’s “Whiter Shade of Pale,” “L.A. Woman” by the Doors, prefaced here with a “Spirit in the Sky” jam (though I’ve heard it also referred to as a La Grange jam) that even teased Nugent’s “Stranglehold.” There was also a take on The Allman Brothers Band’s “Midnight Rider,” Steve Fromholz’s “I’d Have to be Crazy,” the epic sing-a-long “Purple Rain” by Prince, and the debut of Don Williams’ iconic, “Tulsa Time,” which was a personal favorite of mine.
Simpson has recently said that his recent reintroduction to the Grateful Dead, and in particular Jerry Garcia’s guitar playing via his invitation to to the inaugural Dead Ahead Fest in January 2024, “may have saved his life.” It also certainly has influenced his set list structure, as throughout the night songs and jams seamlessly flowed from one song transitioning cleverly to the next, with little to no banter, and very few stops. Simply put, it was a balls to the wall, no holds barred rock and roll extravaganza curated by a fiercely talented band that rivaled any show I’ve seen in the past several years. Simpson’s band consists of slide master Laur Joamets guitar and pedal steel, Kevin Black on bass, newcomer Robbie Crowell on keys and saxophone and last but most certainly not least, Miles Miller on drums.
Miller, an accomplished songwriter in his own right (see out coverage of his solo effort, Solid Gold here: (https://americanahighways.org/2023/07/06/review-miles-miller-solid-gold/) dominated the evening’s MVP discussion all night long to my way of thinking, but regardless of who gets the game ball, this band is pure fire right now. I have a handful of bands that I will earnestly refer to as, the ‘best band playing on any given night’. Sturgill Simpson and band have entered that chat with a fury.
On a side note, this was the most crowded I’ve ever seen The Criterion, including a couple of Jason Isbell shows, and it may have even rivaled a Robert Plant show I caught up at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa several years ago. The line for entry ran for two blocks to the west when doors opened, and the interior lines for merch or drinks were simply beyond comprehension. The crowd was one of the most varied and eclectic I’ve seen recently, a weird un-homogenized mix of country, Americana, rock and metal fans sprinkled here and there with Gen Xers, Boomers, Hipsters, Rednecks and Hippies. There were the typical show talkers, though the band managed to drown them out rather effectively. Yes, the air conditioning struggled at times, and there were a few scuffles and medical issues that kept security and staff on their toes throughout the evening. All part of going to a concert in 2024 I suppose, but I just want to take a moment and give a tip of the hat to the staff as well as the band’s crew for how well and professionally they handled what could have been a rather rowdy audience.
Sturgill Simpson’s 2024 Why Not? tour continues Wednesday night in Rogers Arkansas, then Huntsville, Alabama before landing at Austin’s ACL Festival this weekend. Dates across the majority of the country continue through November, before they’ll jaunt across the pond into Europe in 2025. After that? Only Sturgill knows. Or maybe, only Johnny Blue Skies.
Keep up to date with all things Sturgill Simpson right here: https://sturgillsimpson.com/
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Sturgill Simpson Songs Ranked