Sturgill Simpson | Guitar Moves Interview

Since breaking through in 2014 with his Grammy-nominated Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, Sturgill Simpson has established himself as one of the most daring and most acclaimed artists of our time. His music stretches across genres and styles, from the psychedelic soul of 2016's A Sailor’s Guide To Earth (Grammy-nominated for Album of the Year and winner for Best Country Album) to the fuzzed-out rock attack of Sound & Fury in 2019, which is nominated for Best Rock Album for the 2021 Grammys. Sturgill most recently released Passage du Desir, via his Johnny Blue Skies alias.
Matt Sweeney, host of Guitar Moves, is an NYC based producer (Joanna Sternberg “I’ve Got Me”) and composer (Superwolves, Chavez, Red Dead Redemption 2). His guitar playing can be heard on records by Adele, Johnny Cash, Endless Boogie, Neil Diamond, Cat Stevens, The Desert Sessions, Iggy Pop, Tinariwen.
Credits:
Directed & Produced by : Jason Diamond / Josh Diamond
Edited & Colored by : Andrew Reuland
DP / Camera A : Tony Waweru
Camera B : Josh Diamond
Camera C : Jason Diamond
Sound : Zach Bishop
Filmed in NYC
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/ guitar.moves
/ gtrmoves
/ @guitar-moves
/ gtrmoves

[@jtlemay4878]

Met him at a cafe in nashville right before his first album. Asked me could he play me a song on my guitar, on the patio. Sat about a foot away from me. Blew my mind.

[@andreww6026]

Thats wild. What a memory

[@justinglover1237]

Anything we know?

[@sammitchell6769]

Absolutely tremendous memory! Thank you for sharing

[@MilesThibodeau]

I remember that, I was the guitar

[@jtlemay4878]

@@justinglover1237 i dunno. Made me think of waylon at the tine

[@mrtncrls]

Matt: "Slow down, please, for the kids!" Sturgill: "FASTER?! OK."

[@jsauce311]

Screw the kids 😂

[@wreckoningday]

Show a pattern, for for a child... Drops to level 9

[@beachidiot]

Harder for him to play it slow.

[@andrewwagner9571]

Lmfao sturgill refused to slow it down for the kids

[@TheBalloonHoax]

I'm watching it and i'm like this dude has one speed only haha

[@staff72]

😂😂😂😂

[@HyperBlueZYZ]

Sturgill is BACK!

[@Savagefred]

Fuck the kids lol

[@justinguitarcia]

Tbf its really hard too, those train and stomp rhythms really need some juice behind them to get going

[@jasonpritchett3431]

He's like....I don't know man I just play this fucking thing

[@MitchJohnson0110]

fr 😂

[@Kevin12321]

Most good guitar players lol you ask what’d ya just do. They go “I have no idea”

[@tyson666999]

Literally. No substitute for god given talent

[@TheTurtleCalledPablo]

The amount of times this man said slow for Sturgill Simpson to just continue to rip is so HILARIOUS.

[@DustinDavis-u9e]

Man I love Sturg but he’s never gonna be mistaken for the world’s greatest guitar teacher!! 😂😂😂

[@bwa_8]

Exactly my thoughts 😁. But as soon as he started singing, all is forgiven.

[@34SideWinder]

I kind of love people who refuse to dumb shit down in the name of learning. “I figured this shit out - your turn!”

[@tonym3308]

@@34SideWindergoddamn right

[@mefarri]

The way Sturgill can’t stop singing the song once he’s prompted and just maintains eye contact til ol dude gets the hint and starts playing chords tells you a lot about him. Like Godamnit finish what you started.

[@85isaboat53]

This was funnier than it needed to be

[@AshleyMcginnis-s4c]

Sturgill will never know how truly mindblowingly talented he is... legendary! ❤

[@Omanjack]

One of the most sincere/honest/genuine/humble and talented artists alive. Im not from the US but what he does for American country music is amazing.

[@jsauce311]

Holy shit. This is Guitar Moves Hall of Fame material

[@tomblaze2]

🏆

[@JohnsDough1918]

That jam at the end was a perfect moment to capture on camera.

[@Reminou572]

When Sturgill starts to sing -> Goosebumps

[@joshuawilliams1893]

Sturgill is legitimately one of the greatest of our generation. Wish this was longer!

[@electrolinks]

I like both kinds of music. Country & Western.

[@The_Preacher_LLC]

Man he’s playing all those Sunday riffs. Love to see it

[@theycallyouthebandit]

That Kentuckyian is THE mostest inspiring & purest Artist of my generation.

[@noRest4Gary]

Hearing Sturgill a while back inspired me to take music seriously again. I'll watch or listen to anything he has to offer. Thanks for the interview!

[@davidgomez9641]

This man did the people a real service. He had that thang chuggin and chooglin, twang and rang

[@marcburrows5783]

the guy just sitting on the stairs above them the whole time. hilarious.

[@blltz4410]

thats david ferguson

[@nomo9344]

my thoughts exactly !

[@fleadoggreen9062]

Is david Ferguson a singer ?

[@blltz4410]

@@fleadoggreen9062 He is Sturgill's producer/engineer and an absolute legend. "Today, Ferguson is best known for his works with Johnny Cash, as sound engineer on the highly successful Grammy Award-winning American Recordings albums produced by Rick Rubin, in the 1990s and 2000s (decade). Ferguson has also engineered or produced recordings for such artists as folk music legend John Prine, bluegrass music artist Mac Wiseman, Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, The Del McCoury Band, country music legends Charley Pride, Eddy Arnold, rock-n-roll band U2, and many others..." From Wikipedia

[@KellissonFelipe]

Lost my shit when he appeared hahahah

[@NathanRose-n2v]

Guitar moves opened my eyes to the fact that sturgill is hands down the vocalist his generation.

[@Cliftyman]

As a guy that's mostly played bluegrass my whole life I love that Sturgill is dropping Shuffler, Monroe and Stanley on him. These guys have always been my heroes and my Rock idols... nice to see them being shared.

[@joshb8976]

He also talked about Roscoe Holcomb lol. It made me feel like I wasn’t alone. I live in Norfolk, VA and I go through phases where I only listen to bluegrass. I got a banjo trying to play Doc Boggs songs but I was fooling myself. Dude can play

[@tuckerhall8530]

Sturgill and Laur are the best guitar duo working currently. They nail tempo/key changes harmoniously and manage to compliment the other player without overstepping perfectly. We’re living in a golden age!

[@davidaldridge5716]

Laur (if that’s how you all spell it) is definitely underrated….and that’s been on display like crazy as of late as they are jamming more on this tour and bringing a different feel But dude is smooth and consistent and seems secure enough to not dominate Sturgill forced an internal clash in my head when he suggested he might be the best slide player alive…..cause on my own I have noticed and appreciated that guy….but at the same time Derek Trucks exists 😂

[@prestigeworldwide7914]

Such an underrated badass guitar player. And shoutout to Laur, the best country picker on plant earth!!

[@34SideWinder]

I saw him with Drivin’ N’ Cryin’. My god can that dude play. Absolutely savant.

[@bradyerickson1323]

Nice to hear him mention Laur. His work on metamodern and sailors guide is incredible

[@jimmyreeder3815]

I agree brother

[@kylatokki22]

I believe in Laur supremacy

[@blockingthesunmusic]

Sturgill and Matt over here making my day x100000”000 better

[@jaketarrillion5514]

While others suffered far worse than I did during the pandemic, one of the biggest missed concert regrets of my life was seeing Sturgill and Tyler Childers together. Sturgill coming off his pseudo-psychedelic rock album and Tyler at his peak before finding Jesus, I was pumped. My heart sank when I got that email saying the concert was canceled. Damn.

[@Blueduck-fl2iw]

Same brother…same. We had tickets to see him in Columbus OH and was devastated when that email came through. Thank the Lord he’s back at it though and managed to snag some tickets to see him on his upcoming tour. He still owes us that rock n roll tour though imo!

[@T.-ow8te]

Saw them in Detroit right before the whole shit house went up in flames. Ol' Sturg' left my face right in a puddle, ripped it up.

[@jaketarrillion5514]

@@Blueduck-fl2iw Hopefully without sounding entitled, I think he owes us that tour too. If not, just a couple dates where that album is played.

[@jaketarrillion5514]

@@T.-ow8te Hell yeah brother. I'm glad there were still others that got to experience that era of Sturgill.

[@dougclark966]

That was the last show I saw before covid shut down. Sturgill and Tyler, Asheville.

[@lokiwankenobi6138]

Listened to country growing up cuz of my step mom but never cared for it. Then I heard Sturgill then I became a country fan. He is the best

[@ramblinrogers]

I think Sturgill is one of the most important country acts to come along in a long while. He takes his music to the unpredictable, the beautiful, the unpolished and the menacing. Glad I found this channel, by the way.

[@Guitargate]

This was GREAT! And yeah, Laur is no joke.

[@donewithmodernlife]

Best episode yet. The songs at the end were great. Excellent work Matt, really, really enjoyed this one.

[@jonathanwilson9443]

Awesome hearing some insight into the old Sunday Valley “cowboy punk.” Man I wish he’d re-release that stuff!!

[@kevman5]

Guitar moves is by far the most inspirational guitar related show/channel out there.

[@Fabianorocknwood]

Check out Homeskoolin' by Tom Bukovac

[@TurtleBones]

I don’t know about that. First time seeing this channel and it seems like the host is overwhelmed and can’t keep up.

[@misterknightowlandco]

This show has the most diverse guest list and it’s awesome. Sturgill really a generational talent. Loved his music for a long time. 🍻

[@forrestnunn4612]

I want a sturgill album where he just jams country blues so bad

[@trippcox2641]

Amen!

[@bongoking5850]

Brother, don’t tickle my nuts like that!!

[@Cvamvi]

Wym he has multiple

[@forrestnunn4612]

@Cvamvi I was talking about instrumentals, just rippin

[@packalunch]

johnny blueskies!!!

[@RavenaDenver]

Thank Creator for Sturgill. His music always feels so familiar to me. The love, kindness and "stuff is messed up but we're all right" attitude of every song he plays is comforting and inspiring. He reminds me of Oren Lyon's if he sang what he said instead of gave interviews. Leaves me with the same sense of love and peace and to be kind and good to people, we're all struggling with something, and whether we like it or not, we're all in it together. Great interview, I subscribed.

[@mk48066]

Matt, thank you for bringing this to us. Absolutely love the series, and great to see new content.

[@realgoodmind]

Matt is the best. "What's the beano album?" The greatest guitar ambassador, who has very specific taste, and doesn't know some of the most monumental albums for guitar. I love it all. He may be putting it on but it just never fails to draw me in.

[@damien6997]

Love this series. He's got some great artists here. Why the fundamentals are the same. It's great to see individual style which proves there's no handbook for playing. ❤

[@ilias4156]

This is the good stuff. Thankyou.

[@garrett9002]

sturgill could literally sing and riff on anything and i will listen

[@T4JM]

"Well they were that f@xking guud.." Well stated sir!!

[@corporalclegg914]

damnit, Sweeney! it’s snowballing…Keith, Mascis, Joshua (Joe Shit the Rag Man, Dean, Billy, K-Rock Bob, Annie, Lemmy, Sturge, Ferg, etc… you’re Hittin’ & Gettin’ me right in my Gotcha. what another badass feature. you’re spreading the gospel, Matthew. thank you.

[@dopefiendlarz133]

*A Call to Arms* is the best SNL performance of all time. Way hotter arrangement than the record.

[@durstgt]

This was one of the best episodes of this series that I've seen. Thanks!

[@dukeofdixieland]

If you haven’t already.. that little lick he plays “Polly” and the drums he describes .. look up Sturgills band “Sunday Valley” and look up the song “Sometimes Wine”.. MIND BLOWN

[@josephdevlin4864]

Sometimes wine is an amazing song

[@MrFoofarew]

Never Go To Town Again

[@Jackfriday24]

"I Wonder" is the most beautiful, heart-wrenching, song too. "I Don't Mind" is sad and gorgeous with an unusual chord progression and melody. One of my favorites. And "Jesus Boogie" is a strange name for such a tragic, but chill-bump inducing song. His new stuff is great also, but this style here is what's happening imo.

[@dukeofdixieland]

@@Jackfriday24 loneliness ........ sittin in.... man what a tune.

[@brendanxtrom]

Oh man the T. Rex thing was awesome.

[@nicok5630]

One of the best gigs I ever saw in London

[@ricardosalcedo2824]

Dunno why but this drew a tear. Thanks, Matt Sweeny for this!

[@ChalywongDan]

Matt is one of the best interviewers out there. He has the passion to draw out the drive any artist/musician. It is a beautiful thing.

[@tylamb7684]

Love seeing him play guitar. Sound and Fury live was amazing. Want to see him play lead guitar in the bluegrass band! He’s the best artist out there!

[@garrettmoore3985]

Sound & Fury was one of the most badass shows I’ve ever seen!

[@tylamb7684]

@@garrettmoore3985 hell yeah it was

[@TheLiquidCanvas]

23:52 Some light shines upon the uninitiated when sturg goes high and the universe makes sense for a moment 🙌 #speechless

[@andyszpekman5205]

Sturgill is awesome. Even more so than I realized.

[@bowbow77]

Love how sturgil confirms what Keith richards says on his episode about the left n right hand working together.

[@shannonpatrick77]

Yeah I always liked how Keith explained that.

[@hubspin]

This is such a lovely series. And this is a particularly shiny gem of an episode.

[@rayunterzuber70]

Dude, sing like Robert Palmer is the best line of the decade.

[@JohnsDough1918]

I'm so freaking stoked this show is back. This is definitely one of my favorite episodes (along with Josh Homme, Annie Clark, Dean Ween and Blake Mills).

[@Allagi22]

I've been waiting for a guitar focused Sturgill interview. Thank you for this!

[@Wtxhnter44]

I could listen to sturgill song like this every single day for life

[@scottm3439]

That was fkn great thank you. When they started jamming and singing at the end it reminded me of the Pizza Tapes. Cheers

[@LAA1979]

Just so damn happy to see Sturgill at it again!! Love everything he does.

[@Exit_343]

Sturgill Simpson. A sailor's guide to earth. Brought me back to the heart and Soul of country music. Johnny Blue Skies...is an absolute beautiful album!!!

[@mardin56]

Dang, this is fine stuff. The new Johnny Blue Skies album is old and new at the same time, love it.

[@Blackbelt_97]

Amazing episode! Get your old pal Billy Corgan on the show

[@xtimator]

The last 7 minutes was some damn fine music! Songs I've never heard & the last two brought tears to my eyes. "As I sit here tonight with these tears in my eyes. Oh I see the light as I sit here tonight"!

[@wade2361]

Loved this one! Sturgill is the real deal and this episode was the realist deal. I'd give it a bunch more thumbs ups if I could.

[@Bkesal14]

One of my favourite eps !

[@brandonvickers8946]

One of the best things I've seen on KZbin in a long time.

[@stushapley9384]

Great episode. Love the copy of "killed by death" nonchalantly on camera right. That compilation takes me wayyy back. Keep 'em coming.

[@downingpaterson6456]

LOVE THIS! Can’t wait! Sturgill is underrated as a songwriter and musician.

[@bobcenc]

fantastic episode. full of great moves

[@mofer35]

Guy still amazes me!! Johnny Blue Skies !!!! WOW!!!

[@maxwelltarpleyyoung6598]

Emotional Resonance is pretty brilliant way to describe his vibe . Cool stuff. Thanks for the interview.

[@EdBrooking]

Sturgill crushes that harmony at the end... What a gifted mofo. This was a great show... Thanks❤️

[@aaronmontgomery4000]

Im so glad this episode is on Sturgill I have been showing my friends old Sunday Valley videos with Sturgill just ripping for years. So they would know not only is he the best country music singer in the world hes got some of the best chops as well. Now a lot more people are going to know how fuckin talented this dude is

[@bernoulli884]

Matt's just fantastic. His show has all this insight coming out of it because he's a beast himself, but he gets out of the way and lets the guest shine.

[@lobsterbush4563]

I could have listened to that jam session at the end go on and on for hours

[@sebastianmarko4273]

I didn't realize he was such a monster guitar player!!!

[@kyle8442]

Find the Sunday Valley videos on KZbin. Especially the Live in a Barn and Pickathon 2011

[@Karolinajames23]

So happy y’all brought back back Guitar Moves 🙌🏾💯

[@Lks1202]

These are the coolest guitar vids I’ve ever seen, love these guys

[@Lastman737]

Damn this is good. I would watch 24 hours of this

[@Thelightfool]

This is the best show. Thanks for sharing.

[@rhiannonblue5988]

Good god I love Sturgill. Cave wait to see him in September.

[@ryangunwitch-black]

Oh, man. That whole entire thing was just fantastic. I could have gone another hour. Now I gotta go learn these songs real quick. ❤

[@tradertom4843]

Hell yeh, very underrated artist

[@jay24july]

This video gives me joy

[@realgoodmind]

This was great and maybe the best episode of the series.

[@BigGary79]

Dang ol'Johnny Blue Skies! This was great!!!

[@AC_86]

Unreal interview. Wanted them to do more songs at the end! Was amazing watching Sturgill just be so chilled & jamming. Loving the new album, it's a masterpiece!

[@timwasem]

Matt's looking like GQ Popeye. Love it.

[@thomassheffey9514]

Matt is one of those guys who is cool without even trying. I guess that is why he gets great interviews and plays on great albums.

[@olleareskoug2240]

Loooooooool hahahaha

[@spencercox4092]

so glad to see this series back!! missed ya Matt!

[@jmwise80]

Thank you, Sturgill. Major breakthroughs here with that boogie.

[@TheDicephalous]

I enjoyed this so damn much, thank you.

[@freddonson5436]

Finest, absolutely best interview ever! Sturgill Rules!

[@Donk82]

Thank you so much for this Gem!!! Sturgill is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@RandallFromFlorida4]

Sturgill is what we needed when we needed something new. You're the man Hoss.

[@timholtguitar6999]

Looking forward to finally seeing him in Detroit in September! Great interview!!!

[@kits0607]

Love the Leather! You are the best Sturgill!! Thank You Guitar Moves!! Would love a Unknown Mortal Orchestra Guitar Moves.... XOXOXO

[@zorrogordo70]

Matt, I love love love Guitar Moves! Go glad you've kept it going and getting better and better. Thank you

[@matthewyaron5827]

Great time!! Thanks

[@adamcoe]

this is very excellent and those are 3 of the best in the goddamn business. Also shout out to Matt, I saw you with Zwan (aka the Djali Zwan) on my 22nd birthday in Grand Rapids, after being in fender bender.

[@DamianD15]

Great interview! Love this series

[@doers8154]

This was a beautiful interview. 😇