Who Is Johnny Blue Skies?

Johnny Blue Skies just announced what may be the most anticipated tour of 2024. Wait, who? That was the question a lot of people had after Sturgill Simpson announced his new album, Passage Du Desir dropping on July 12, along with his 30-stop Why Not? tour. Only he announced that the album and tour would actually be "Johnny Blue Skies." So, who exactly is Johnny Blue Skies? Well a quick look at his website answers the basic question: It's Sturgill Simpson. Well, it's Sturgill Simpson's alter ego. Under the announcement, the FAQs clear up any confusion about whether or not Mr. Blue Skies really is Stu himself. “Q: Is Johnny Blue Skies Sturgill Simpson? A: Yes Q: Will Sturgill be playing music from his entire catalog on the “Why Not?” tour? A: Yes Q: Is the band Kevin, Laur, Miles and Robbie? A: Yes” But where did the Johnny Blue Skies persona come from? Well to track down its origins we have to go back a little farther. If you happen to have a copy of Sturgill Simpson’s Grammy-winning A Sailor’s Guide To Earth album, you can take a look at one of the inserts (basically a poster) which includes this little phrase: “Beware the dread pirate Johnny Blue Skies” But even more than that, there’s a filing from December of 2022 with the United States Patent & Trademark Office for “Johnny Blue Skies, LLC,” which also includes the language: “The name(s), portrait(s), and/or signature(s) shown in the mark identifies John Sturgill Simpson, whose consent(s) to register is made of record.” The trademark filings cover everything from music to stickers, and give us a glimpse into what Sturgill has up his sleeve for this next chapter of his career. Sturgill has said in the past that he only planned on releasing five albums under his name. And with The Ballad of Dood & Juanita becoming the fifth Sturgill Simpson album, along with High Top Mountain, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, A Sailor's Guide to Earth, and Sound & Fury, many were wondering whether that was really it for ol' Sturgill. "I don’t want to say I’ll never make another record, but this five-album narrative was really clear when I moved to Nashville. My wife really helped me carve that out, in terms of how to go about the beginning, middle and end for each chapter. But then after that, I am not sure." Well, turns out that may be it for Sturgill, but Johnny Blue Skies might just be getting started. Of course Sturgill also confirmed that, yes, "Johnny Blue Skies" will be playing Sturgill music during his shows too, so the tour isn't just going to feature the new music. It's the same band, same Sturgill on stage, just under a different name. And this isn't the first we'll get to hear from the dread pirate: Johnny Blue Skies was also featured on "Use Me (Brutal Hearts)" with Diplo from his Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley: Chapter 2 – Swamp Savant album last year. So what's this new music from the disco cowboy going to sound like? I think that's anybody's guess at this point, although it's safe to say it's not going to sound exactly like Sturgill's music under his own name.