Back before there was a Johnny Blue Skies and the name Sturgill Simpson became synonymous with the rebirth of alt-country, the Kentucky-born singer-songwriter fronted a band called Sunday Valley. Though Sunday Valley’s lone studio album To the Wind and On to Heaven (2011) is conspicuously absent from streaming services, Simpson nodded to his first band during a two-night run at The Salt Shed where he performed “I Wonder” solo for the first time live.
Simpson’s first of two concerts at the former Morton salt warehouse turned concert venue in Chicago saw him give a broad overview of his celebrated five-album catalog. High Top Mountain, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, SOUND & FURY, and The Ballad of Dood & Juanita were all given attention along with songs by the Allman Brothers Band, Procol Harum, When in Rome, and Simpson’s Johnny Blue Skies monicker in the first half of the show.
“This a song I wrote probably around 20 years ago, most of you probably never heard it. This a song I used to do in an old band in Lexington, Kentucky called Sunday Valley,” Simpson said ahead of “I Wonder”, though judging by the roar of the crowd, at least a few people were familiar with Sturgill’s pre-fame band. “This is some sloppy, barroom shit right here fellas.”
Simpson is his own worst critic, and though the crying-in-your-beer ballad is a bit simplistic compared to his adventurous solo catalog, “I Wonder” can be seen through the rearview as a telling sign of things to come. The year after releasing To the Wind and On to Heaven, Sunday Valley officially disbanded following the departure of several original members. In light of their absence, Simpson wrote at the time that he didn’t feel right continuing under the Sunday Valley banter. The band would change its name to Sturgill Simpson & High Top Mountain Boys and ultimately to just Sturgill Simpson. In a post that has aged extraordinarily well, Simpson teased at the time, “New band, new sound, new album coming very soon…as they say, the next chapter is always better, that’s why we turn the page.”
Related: How Jerry Garcia Helped Inspire Sturgill Simpson To Return To The Stage
Check out a gallery of images from Sturgill Simpson at The Salt Shed courtesy of photographer Brett Bergen along with fan-shot videos by Amy Karibian, including the Sunday Valely debut. Simpson’s Why Not? Tour continues with dates around the south surrounding two headlining weekends at Austin City Limits Festival. Find tickets and a full list of tour dates on his website. Sturgill has partnered with nugs to stream audio of the tour. Not a nugs subscriber yet? Sign up for a seven-day free trial here. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription or purchasing a download via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]
Sturgill Simpson — “I Wonder” — 10/1/24
Setlist: Sturgill Simpson | The Salt Shed | Chicago, IL | 10/1/24 |
Set: Brace for Impact (Live a Little), Juanita, Just Let Go, Voices, Midnight Rider (The Allman Brothers Band), Welcome to Earth (Pollywog), Best Clockmaker on Mars, Breakers Roar, Mint Tea, Sing Along, A Whiter Shade of Pale (Procol Harum), Railroad of Sin, The Promise (When in Rome), I Wonder (Sunday Valley) [1], A Good Look [2], L.A. Woman (The Doors), Sitting Here Without You [3], Long White Line (Moore & Napier), I’d Have to Be Crazy (Steven Fromholz), I Don’t Mind, All Said and Done, Right Kind of Dream, Fastest Horse in Town, Jupiter’s Faerie, Scooter Blues, Life of Sin, It Ain’t All Flowers, One for the Road, Purple Rain (Prince)l, Call to Arms [4]
[1] FTP
[2] Intro – “Spirit In The Sky” (Norman Greenbaum)
[3] First public performance since 2016
[4] Teased Wings’ “Band on the Run” guitar theme in instrumental breakdown
The post Sturgill Simpson Revisits Pre-Solo Band Sunday Valley For Song Debut At Chicago’s Salt Shed [Photos/Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
