Sturgill Simpson Turns Apogee Studios into a Funky, Psychedelic Honkytonk

There are few better rooms to experience live music (or a playback of recorded music, for that matter) than the Apogee Studio space. We’re lucky to have had them host some special live sessions for us over the years. And we get doubly lucky when we have a special artist, at the height of their powers, coming in to showcase music from their new album. Such was the case this week when country troubadour Sturgill Simpson joined us there to play the entirety of his much-anticipated third album, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, front-to-back, for an intimate introduction to his new record!

Simpson first hit our radar as we were programming our 2014 Summer Nights series at the Annenberg, which was centered around country music. We quickly discovered that he was far too dynamic a songwriter & performer to be limited to just that genre, that his sound encompassed indie-, psychedelic- and straight-up rock elements that marked him as an artist to watch (he admits his own musical roots were as much based in punk rock as country, which explains his cover of Nirvana’s “In Bloom”). Now, on the eve of the release of his new, even more dynamic album, we are so excited to share it, not only with the lucky few that saw the show this week, but the listenership at large when we air the complete session, including an intimate interview with Chris Douridas, on Morning Becomes Eclectic on Friday, April 22! In the meantime, here are some glimpses of what took place with Simpson this week!

(all photos by Dustin Downing)

KCRW’s Apogee Sessions featuring Sturgill Simpson, hosted by Chris Douridas

Broadcasts and streams on KCRW’s MBE: Friday, April 22

SET LIST:

Welcome To Earth (Pollywog)

Breaker’s Roar

Keep It Between The Lines

Sea Stories

In Bloom (Nirvana cover)

Brace For Impact (Live A Little)

All Around You

Oh Sarah

Call To Arms

New album A Sailor’s Guide To Earth played from start to finish

Musicians:

Sturgill Simpson- Vocals, guitar

Miles Miller- Drums, band leader

Laur Joamet- Guitar

Chuck Bartels- Bass

Bobby Emmett- Keys

Brad Walker- Sax

Jon Ramm- Trombone

Scott Frock- Trumpet