The Why Not? Tour has come to an end.
After a marathon three months’ worth of unbelievable concerts, Sturgill Simpson (or Johnny Blue Skies if you prefer), closed out his legendary return to the stage with two nights in Boston, Massachusetts.
And during night one in Boston, he laid down a seven-minute version of “Midnight Rider” that we have to talk about.
The track was initially cut by The Allman Brothers in 1971 and later re-recorded by Hank Williams Jr. in 1983. It is famed among country music lovers and southern rock listeners as the lyrics detail a man on the run. The desperate narrator hopes to lay low as a “Midnight Rider ” and not get caught by the law.
“Well, I’ve got to run to keep from hidin’
And I’m bound to keep on ridin’
And I’ve got one more silver dollar
But I’m not gonna let ’em catch me, no
Not gonna let ’em catch the midnight rider”
Simpson’s take on the track highlights some of the best southern rock picking in the game. Extending the intro to over a minute, when Stu comes in with the lyrics, he brings a growl from deep within, projecting the words confidently to the audience.
Although the concertgoer who posted a video of the performance is right up on the stage, you can hear the crowd behind him screaming the words of the classic song along with Stu and the band.
After the second verse, Stu opens it up for his band to jam, and they didn’t disappoint. Sturgill always lays down some of the most mesmerizing guitar picking I have seen while also sharing the spotlight with the band so they can showcase their talent. These boys know how to play, and they showed Boston that even after all these weeks of touring, they are still fresh and laying it down like it’s opening night.
This is how you close out a tour. Fire it up.
Of course many people are also chattering about his political message, when Simpson seemingly called out Trump in a rare speech to the crowd. Given that Simpson generally keeps his concerts strictly to the music, does not speak much to his crowd, and focuses on face-melting performances of his songs blended with jam sessions, fans were shocked to hear him share his thoughts during the final stretch of the tour.
“I just want to say that I think it’s ok to disagree as long as there’s compassion and kindness in everybody’s heart. And if you meet in the middle, that’s ok.
But for anyone that’s pretty down right now, for those that don’t know how to deal with anxiety of the day-to-day that they find themselves accepting, I just want to tell you something that I believe. I think that… I don’t think, I know, because I’ve seen it. I think that this toxic patriarch energy that we are experiencing right now, this is an age coming to an end.
What you are seeing is that energy clinging and clawing for survival because it knows it’s dying, and we are heading towards something very beautiful. And we just gotta go through some dark sh*t first to get there. Love everybody around you, don’t accept anything other than that, and f**k sh*t up. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
Take that for what you will.