John Sturgill Simpson (born June 8, 1978) is an American country music singer-songwriter and actor. Simpson's style has been met with critical favor and frequent comparisons to outlaw country. His first two albums, High Top Mountain and Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, were independently released in the US in 2013 and 2014 and in Europe, through the British record label Loose. The latter album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Americana Album, listed 18th on Rolling Stone's "50 Best Albums of 2014," and named among "NPR's 50 Favorite Albums of 2014." Simpson's third album, A Sailor's Guide to Earth, was released in April 2016 on Atlantic Records and was his first major-label release, later earning him Best Country Album at the 59th Grammy Awards and also being nominated for Album of the Year. Simpson's fourth album, Sound & Fury, was released on September 27, 2019, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album at the 63rd Grammy Awards. He released two albums in 2020 – Cuttin' Grass, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 – which feature bluegrass interpretations of songs from across his catalog, and marked his return to independent music. His seventh studio album, The Ballad of Dood and Juanita was released in August 2021. Having promised to release only five studio albums under his own name (not counting the Cuttin' Grass project) Simpson debuted the alter ego Johnny Blue Skies for his eighth album Passage du Desir. His second album as Johnny Blue Skies and his first to share billing with his band The Dark Clouds, Mutiny After Midnight, was released in 2026.