Emily Ferguson
Audio By Carbonatix
During his sold-out run at the Mission Ballroom in April, Sturgill Simpson made it clear that he doesn’t identify with the “jam band” tag people have been hanging on him since he started performing under the moniker Johnny Blue Skies.
“All these jam band kids, I’m gonna tell you all something: It ain’t about going to shows and not hearing the same songs eighteen nights in a row. We are not a jam band. I am a songwriter with a band that jams,” he said.
Tomato, tomahto. Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds certainly sounds like a jam band, at least in the vein of the Southern-rock-oriented ones such as Widespread Panic. The country songwriter and his “band that jams” showed as much at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on September 16, the first concert of a two-night run that completely sold out.
There weren’t as many blue skies as there were dark clouds at the venue, which was being pelted with rain as the audience packed in hours before the show. Thunder was booming and the band was welcomed to the stage by a crack of lightning that had the crowd whooping. But Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds was locked in, kicking off the set with a scintillating cover of “Whiter Shade of Pale” that led into an extended, spacey jam that became deep and heavy, leading into the thumping beginnings of “Brace for Impact (Live a Little),” off Sturgill’s third album, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth (2016).
The band was jamming that song for about ten minutes, with Sturgill seeming to summon the lightning himself through some shredding solos, until a somewhat-expected announcement came. “Well, it’s everybody’s turn to be an asshole sometimes, but we’ve got to call it for a few. Apparently, there’s been some lightning; we can’t see it from here,” the frontman said, as the rain grew heavier and thunder rollicked through the venue.
“Just to be clear: We’re fuckin’ coming back,” he added, and the audience roared.
The majority of fans stayed put for the break, still yelling whenever lightning flashed, until the band returned about 45 minutes later to a round of applause as the screens framing the stage flashed the sign: “All Clear.”
“Sorry, guys, I realized this is all my fault,” Sturgill told the crowd. “This was the first time we put Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds on the lineup,” adding that he drank a bottle of cabernet backstage while waiting for the weather to pass.
The rain had essentially cleared by the time the band returned to “Brace for Impact,” intermingling heavy rock and country sonics as it broke into a cover of “You Don’t Miss Your Water.” Then with a trickle of twangs, the band went into “Mint Tea” before getting heavy again with high-powered delivery of “Right Kind of Dream,” the stage awash with golden lights. “This is the version of Sturgill I always wanted,” my friend said, as the bandmates worked as one to configure a swell of Southern-infused blues rock that transfixed the audience.
Sturgill Simpson acknowledged he was entering new territory when he released his latest album, Passage Du Desir, as Johnny Blue Skies in 2024. Focusing on more rock and blues, the album marked a sonic shift from his previous six albums under his original name. Sturgill told Quobuz that he felt as though his previous identity had become “a brand,” adding that he was inspired by Eric Clapton’s Derek and the Dominos.
You can also hear Clapton’s influence in Sturgill’s own playing, especially when the band covered “Lay Down Sally.” “Fuck the setlist,” Sturgill said before that number. “We can’t even see it. … So we’re just going to play music.” With that, the musicians launched into a fast-paced, bluesy improvisation that quickly led into the Clapton cover, as a pattern of blue lights covered the stage.
The covers on the 29-song setlist were all impeccable, with Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds going from Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” straight into the Doors’ “L.A. Woman.” And then there was the Allman Brothers’ “Midnight Rider,” which sent the crowd into a frenzy, and even Eddie Murphy’s “Party All the Time.”
But even as the well-known covers whipped up the crowd, the best moments came from Johnny Blue Skies originals, including “One for the Road,” “Scooter Blues” and “Jupiter’s Faerie.” Sturgill showed his guitar prowess throughout, and was in top form.This is more than a “band that jams,” but a pack of world-class musicians: Laur Joamets (guitar), Kevin Black (bass), Robbie Crowell (keys) and Miles Miller (drums) know how to deconstruct and rebuild tunes to make them a wholly unique experience in the live format, crafting mind-bending moments that pull audiences into the present moment and leave them begging for more.
After an encore of “Best Clockmaker on Mars,” which included a “Bulls on Parade” riff, the crowd was left very wet but even more thrilled — and ready for a second night of jams from a band that’s definitely not a jam band but a band that jams.
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