NPR

Sturgill Simpson Raids His Own Catalog For Surprise Bluegrass Album

Returning to a form he fell in love with after first moving to Nashville, the genre-defying singer recorded Cuttin' Grass Vol. 1 in just a few days earlier this year, after recovering from COVID-19.
Before recording <em>Cuttin' Grass Vol. 1,</em> Sturgill Simpson (seated at center with guitar) assembled an all-star crew of bluegrass players to help him reimagine songs selected from across his own acclaimed — and genre-defying — albums.

In the first, anonymous year he lived in Nashville, Sturgill Simpson would head out from his ugly apartment to the Station Inn every Sunday night. The man who'd go on to define a new lane with his 2014 breakthrough and win a Grammy for his follow up, would sit within a circle of folding chairs – like an A.A. meeting, people might joke, but for those addicted to hot licks and tight harmonies – and play bluegrass. A Kentucky kid, Simpson had

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR3 min readAmerican Government
A Michigan Grassroots Effort Is Raising Reparations, While The Government Lags
The year 2020 was a turning point for Lansing, Michigan resident Willye Bryan. Between the racial reckoning following the murder of George Floyd and the health disparities that hit the African American community during the pandemic, she knew it was t
NPR2 min readAmerican Government
Majorie Taylor Greene Is Planning A Vote Next Week To Oust Speaker Johnson
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., says she will follow through on her threat to hold a vote to oust Speaker Mike Johnson sometime next week, despite signs that her effort will fail.
NPR2 min read
Walmart Says It Will Close Its 51 Health Centers And Virtual Care Service
The Arkansas-based company said that after managing the clinics it launched in 2019 and expanding its telehealth program, it concluded "there is not a sustainable business model for us to continue."

Related Books & Audiobooks