The Ballad of Dood & Juanita

Sturgill Simpson has made several sonic detours over the last few years, sharply veering away from the cosmic country of his breakout 2014 album *Metamodern Sounds in Country Music*, particularly into prog rock on 2019’s *SOUND & FURY* and revisiting his bluegrass roots on the 2020 releases *Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 1 (Butcher Shoppe Sessions)* and *Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 2 (Cowboy Arms Sessions)*. *The Ballad of Dood & Juanita* falls more squarely in the latter’s territory, pulling from bluegrass, gospel, traditional country, and mountain music. Thematically, *Dood & Juanita* is a concept album, telling a continuous narrative throughout, something Simpson flirted with in the past but had yet to fully explore. And while Simpson has plenty of his own bona fides, tapping Willie Nelson to join him on “Juanita” sweetens the deal, offering a direct connection to the very lineage Simpson sets out to celebrate.

Following two volumes of roots renditions of his own songs, the shapeshifting country musician returns with a bluegrass concept album about love among the legends of the Kentucky frontier.

The enigmatic star’s fourth album in two years is a concept album about a couple in the American Civil War

Sturgill Simpson's latest, 'The Ballad of Dood and Juanita', is a concept album set on American frontier after the Civil War.

Following quickly on the heels of his two-part bluegrass excursion Cuttin' Grass, The Ballad of Dood & Juanita finds Sturgill Simpson continuing his retreat to the olden days.

The Ballad Of Dood and Jaunita Album Review by Sturgill Simpson album review by Greg Walker. The LP comes out on August 27, 2021