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A List of Things The New Johnny Blues Skies’ Record Makes Me Wish I Was Doing While Listening To It

By Ryan O'Connell on 03/04/2026 • ( 0 )

Sturgill Simpson is a diabolical son of a gun.

So, a couple of years ago, Simpson said he was going to call it quits after five albums. That’s it. Five. After album number 5, he would ride off into the sunset, leaving us with nothing but memories and (checks notes) five incredible albums.

The five albums in question were part of a pre-planned five-album narrative Simpson set out to create back when he moved to Nashville and started with 2013’s High Top Mountain and concluded with 2021’s The Ballad of Dood and Juanita. For those keeping score at home, the two Cuttin’ Grass records don’t count, as they’re bluegrass interpretations of previously released songs.

Now, as a point of clarification, once album five hit, that did not mean the end of Sturgill Simpson, per se. It meant the end of Sturgill Simpson, the solo performer. The future was a bit ambiguous, but Simpson wasn’t going anywhere. It’s just that wherever he was going, he was rolling with the homies.

Oh, and he was going by Johnny Blue Skies now. Because sure, why the hell not, right?

Johnny Blue Skies’ first move was to release Passage du Desir in 2024, and he then followed that up with the Who the F**k Is Johnny Blue Skies? tour, which could have easily been named the Fuck It, Boys, Let’s Have Some Fun tour because that’s sure as shit what it sounded like as JBS and his band tore ass across the country, playing shows that stretched to almost three hours and were top-notch, rip-roaring, shit-kicking affairs. They beefed up some of the country tunes, jammed out some of the funky tunes, and raged some cover tunes from the Allmans, The Doors, Prince, Rage Against the Machine, and more.

Shit, maybe they didn’t jam. I know that is a bit of a touchy subject. We’ll just say they rocked out some funky tunes and leave it at that. Great and whatever, the Johnny Blue Skies and the Dark Clouds show was a hell of a listen and only made someone more excited and interested in what Sturgil/Johnny might do next now that he was no longer tethered to his five-album journey.

2026 then started, shit was weird and surly, and then came word that JBS and the DS had recorded themselves an album and said album was set to be released in March. Great, wonderful news! They were only going to release it on physical media. No streaming, kid. And that was cool until you realized you had sold your stereo, and your only CD player was in your car. But again, who gives a shit? In the words of Dr. Ian Malcom, “life finds a way.”

Given the various twists and turns Sturgill/JBS has taken in the past year or so, it shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise that the band dropped the album earlier than expected and did so via YouTube, proving YouTube exists from things other than Game of Thrones clips, late-night comedy show segments, and rock videos from the 1990s. Mutiny After Midnight is an extension of the funky, southern boogie rock that JBS and company perfected on their tour. It’s the kind of music that gets into your bones and into your hips. It gets your motor running and your mood uplifting. It’s a lot of God damn fun.

It’s also a bit transportive as it makes you want to do things or makes you feel like you should be doing things you’re probably not currently doing. I love albums in that vein because, as was previously stated, it’s a lot of God damn fun.

Here’s a current list of all things Mutiny After Midnight makes me wish I was or feel like I should be doing, and places I wish I were. Listed in no particular order, of course, because you know, it’s a mutiny.

Get in a bar fight…but like, a fun one with people getting tossed over the bar and/or getting dragged down the bar, breaking all the bottles and glasses before ending up on the floor. No dance routines, though.
Being in a car chase that takes place primarily on dirt roads.
Driving a big ass, shit-kicking truck down a dirt road at a speed where there’s a wild cloud of dust and dirt behind you. And yes, the windows are down, and it’s sick.
Drinking some swill ass beer out of a bottle.
Wearing a cowboy hat.
Drinking some beer while wearing a cowboy hat.
Run up to a car from the passenger side and slide across the front hood to get to the other side.
Drive a killer old Mustang, perhaps while getting away from a bank robbery.
I mean, I just wish I had a record player and some big ass speakers.
Go lake cruising on a boat.
Beach bonfire, bro!
Throwing a bunch of brush and old branches in the back of an old truck on a really nice fall day.
Do some shots of whiskey with a traveling buddy from the old days.
Literally see this album performed live in a bar and a dive bar, or close to a dive bar. Dive Bar-esque. That would work.
Selecting a song from the record on a jukebox in a diner lit with fluorescent lights and thankfully does NOT have Fox News on.
Grilling some shit like big ass burgers or a juicy steak out on a deck.
Wearing a jean jacket AND PULLING IT OFF.
No, really, a record player would be sweet.
Enter a bar, and everything stops because I look like I mean trouble, but don’t worry, I just look like I mean trouble, and I’m not actually trouble, it’s just that I’ve had that look about me since I was young, and really I’m a delight to be around.
Go on an adventure with my dog, who sits shotgun and is having the time of his life.
Kicking my shoes off after a long day, grabbing a beer, and sitting on the deck to kick back.