Matthew McConaughey Turns To Sturgill Simpson When Life Feels Off Balance & Out Of Rhythm

I don't know this for a fact but I truly believe that somewhere in the world Matthew McConaughey is in the midst of some ethereal trance with Johnny Blue Skies blasting and he'll be like that for quite awhile. Today is a huge day in country music as Sturgill Simpson , AKA Johnny Blue Skies, released his first album since 2021. While Passage Du Desir is hard to sum up sonically, there's no denying the quality of the entire body of work and it's going to be on my rotation for a long, long time. In the past, Matthew McConaughey has spoken very highly of Sturgill's music, and while he hasn't spoken about this latest album yet, I think we should take a trip down memory lane. McConaughey has long been a country music fan, having starred in Jamey Johnson’s “Playing The Part” music video back in 2010 and most recently teaming up with Zach Bryan for his “Nine Ball” music video, not to mention hosting the fundraiser that gave us Post Malone's cover of "You Can Have The Crown" , but when he's not partaking in country music, he's taking it in as nothing more than a lover of the art form. During an appearance on Justin Moore's Podcast, when asked if he was a country music fan, he responded: “I’m a good music fan... I’ve always liked certain country… Waylon would be my favorite country voice, and then I love that “Metamodern Sound” by Sturgill, that’s one of the best albums I’ve heard recently, front to back, as far as it having a full identity." Then, during the roll out of his book Greenlights , he released a short project on Spotify and episode one, titled "Finding Your Frequency", talked about music's role in bringing himself to level ground when things get all shaken up. " You know, a theory that has helped me out and I think it can help us all out sometimes is “Finding Our Frequency.” Daily, with ourselves, with others, in life… Sometimes our differential is split, or off balance, out of rhythm, out of tune… and we do not hear the music of our own lives… What do we gotta do?

We got to find our frequency, balance the EQ, get rid of the treble, bring up the bass… What I’m about to share with you are some tunes I have found my frequency too the last 50 years… All songs that got me back in line and on time, so I could find my frequency again…”

He then plays a few songs and speaks about some artists that mean a lot to him, one being Sturgill, and he intros his song "It Ain't All Flowers" with: “Time to put your seatbelt on, bring your chin strap and your mouth guard cause we got scars to earn in this rodeo called life.” If there’s a better song for finding your frequency, I have yet to hear it as “It Ain’t All Flowers” speaks on the requirement of pain to find life’s beauty. “Cleaning out the darkest corners of my mind Taking all my full circles, and making straight lines Been getting to the bottom of the bottom getting to me Holding up the mirror to everything I don’t want to see” Sturgill and McConaughey have a similar charm. A wild behind the eyes, physically reserved but spiritually expressive. They don’t raise their voice, they let the words speak for themselves. Hard to sum up but, when given the time, easy to understand. Two heavy souls with an open heart, rebels done with running. In this spirit, let’s all do a bit of leveling out today, crank up some Sturgill Simpson, I mean Johnny Blue Skies, and remember to just keep livin’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMAqPi2Rb4Q