Sturgill Simpson at Hammersmith Apollo

Sturgill Simpson (as Johnny Blueskies)

Hammersmith Apollo, 1 March 2025

My third time seeing Sturgill Simpson live (this time touring as Johnny Blue Skies for some bizarre reason) and possibly the longest concert I've ever been to: three hours long! I think by the end I was more exhausted than Simpson himself, who I'm pretty certain would have carried on jamming with his band if the curfew hadn't stopped him.

The first time I saw Sturgill live it was just after his breakthrough second album, Metamodern Sounds In Country Music, came out and his show was a refreshing mix of traditional country music with an undercurrent of rock n' roll. Five years later I caught him again, just before Covid hit, and Simpson was clearly more confident and in a groove. It was after his eclectic rock album Sound & Fury came out and this time his show was an almost schizophrenic mix of rootsy country, hard rock, bluegrass and psychedelic jams: genre-hopping at its confusing best (although I wasn't so sure about it at the time).

This time we were pre-warned to turn up on time as this would be an "extended set" and boy did he deliver on that promise. Even though I arrived early, there was already an enormous queue and so I didn't exactly get a great spot at the barrier (made worst by being stuck next to the tallest dude). I admit this did make me the tiniest bit grumpy but at the very least the show started fairly early at 8pm, with no support act

Simpson may have an alter-ego these days (apparently its something to do with only wanting to release five albums under his own name, which is crazy because Sturgill Simpson is such a fantastic name), but he arrived on stage looking very much himself, in a laid back outfit of blue jeans and army jacket. It's a big stage at the Hammersmith Apollo but his band was positioned close around him, comprised of a drummer, bassist, guitarist and a keyboard player, looking very much like an earthy rock band from the 1970s rather than a country group (which certainly should have been the first clue).

The place was absolutely packed and the vibe was definitely full of positivity, so there was plenty of excitement as the band launched into their first song, Brace For Impact (Live A Little), without a word. They immediately got into a bluesy groove and it sounded great, but it was also clear what the mandate was tonight: to jam and then to jam some more.

Every time I've seen Simpson he's always thrown in lots of covers (tonight we got Led Zep, The Doors, Prince and Procol Harum, to name just a few!) and he's always played the William Bell/Otis Redding song You Don't Miss Your Water, and he certainly didn't disappoint tonight, as that cover was the second song out of the gate and he clearly loves playing this bluesy tune, as it morphed into something different yet again. 

It took until the fourth song before the Johnny Blue Skies tracks started to emerge (beginning If The Sun Never Rises Again) and they definitely sounded perfect for the jam-band sound. All in all he played a fair chunk of the record (six out of the nine songs) and to be honest, if this was all he played it would have been a fantastic night, particularly Jupiter's Faerie near the end. 

I'd say the first hour or so was played without a break, with each song simply morphing into the next one and the way the band went from rock, to blues to bluegrass and country this time felt a lot more natural and flowed pretty well (although even the gentler country tunes had long guitar solos), and Simpson barely said a word, until halfway through when he finally ended a song and told us "we ain't halfway done yet." 

The crowd was absolutely loving it and maybe I don't appreciate a good thing when I've got it, but I can't deny my heart sank a little. I realised the rumours of a three hour set were true and we had another hour and a half to go. I thought about the fact that Kim Deal was playing the Barbican the same night (and truth be told, if I didn't already have a ticket for this show I would have probably have opted for Ms Deal), and not only would I have a nice comfy seat and a decent view, she would probably be finishing up right now and I'd be on my way home content and happy (indeed she only played for an hour and a half). 

During Simpson's set I did go through a whole host of emotions: frustration, annoyance, boredom and acceptance. I think it was probably in the last hour, when I finally realised that Simpson truly was making true on his promise, that I actually probably started to enjoy it, in part as I decided that even if he was still playing, I would leave by a certain time. It may well have also been because we got some bangers in this last part of the show, including Turtles All The Way Down, One For The Road (surely the highlight of the Johnny Blue Skies record), the riff-tastic Best Clockmaker On Mars and an absolutely storming cover of Prince's Purple Rain.

I finally started to leave as the band began a cover of A Whiter Shade Of Pale. I'd had enough and it was almost 11pm and I didn't want to miss my train. Fortunately, as it turns out, this was the last song of the night, I'd later learn, so I didn't miss much (he didn't do an encore as I suspected he wouldn't).  

The whole thing did make me think of a recent Jack White post on Instagram, who of course I had just seen the night before, where he called out fans wanting longer sets (he currently plays a very satisfying 90 minute show), saying that the Ramones and the Beatles used to play for just 30 minutes and he would do that if he could. I'm definitely on White's side here. His show was the perfect length and left me absolutely satisfied. Simpson obviously has a ball getting into his groove and playing a long show and clearly his fans love it, but, for me, if he had cut out all the covers, and a little less of the noodling, we would have an absolutely thrilling, meaty two hour show. For me, it would have been perfect. 

I've seen long shows before from the likes of Springsteen and even Neil Young at this very same venue (he even got fined for going over curfew one night), but none as long as this one. Recently I saw a fan on social media complaining about a Billie Eilish show because it only lasted an hour and a half, which puzzled me, but then Taylor Swift seems to have set a precedent for three and a half hour long shows, which I don't remember ever happening in the past, and I wonder if this is becoming more of an generally accepted practice. Of course her shows cost an arm and a leg to go to so I suppose it's some kind of value for money, but to me, a 90 minute set is all I need, even from my absolute favourite artists.

That's not to say Simpson wasn't good, he was great! On absolute top form. He and his brilliant band have incredible stamina and they didn't let up throughout the night. Simpson let the music do the talking, and gave us songs that evolved in big and beautiful ways from the album versions, and his voice and guitar playing were absolutely top notch.

Sturgill Simpson is an incredible artist and I'm definitely glad I've seen him live three times now and seen him evolve in such a creative way, but I think I would have just appreciated it a little more with a slightly shorter show. I firmly believe in that old adage, leave 'em wanting more.