Sturgill Simpson performs “Welcome To Earth (Pollywog)” on “Late Night with Seth Meyers”

“Welcome To Earth (Pollywog)” is the opening track from Simpson’s widely praised new album A Sailor’s Guide To Earth, which sold 55,000 units in its first week (with over 52,000 in pure albums sales) debuting at #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, #1 on the Billboard Current Albums chart, #1 on Billboard Current Digital Albums chart and #3 on the overall Billboard 200 chart. A Sailor’s Guide To Earth also debuted at #1 on the Billboard Vinyl Albums chart with over 9,400 copies sold.

In celebration of the release, Simpson is currently in the midst of an extensive North American tour, including upcoming dates at Denver’s Paramount Theatre (two nights), Seattle’s Paramount Theatre and L.A.’s The Wiltern (two nights). See below for the complete itinerary.

Available now on Atlantic Records (purchase here), the album continues to receive overwhelming critical acclaim—Pitchfork proclaims, “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth finds Sturgill Simpson weirder and more adventurous than ever, forging a bold new way forward” and goes on to assert, “”It’s a deeply personal album that, while establishing Simpson as the defining songwriter of his class, displays an artistic growth that defies any sort of easy label.” Additionally, Rolling Stone awarded the album 4-stars calling it, “a spectacular mic drop of a third LP,” while The New York Times praises, “Sailor’s Guide is rowdier, more emotionally insular and also far more musically surprising, an album of raw country cut with rich and messy Southern soul and sleek orchestral bombast” and Esquire Magazine declares, “It’s hard to believe any other record this year will raise as many eyebrows, invite as many questions, or be as instantly beloved.” Moreover, NPR Music describes “Brace For Impact (Live A Little),” as “thrilling new music,” while Stereogum calls “In Bloom,” “transcendent…Simpson turned ‘In Bloom’ into first a weepy, twangy ballad and then a celebratory blast of brass, his drawl doing justice to Cobain’s lyrics all the while.”

Earlier this year, Simpson performed “All Around You” on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Brace For Impact (Live A Little)” on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “In Bloom” and “Call To Arms” on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” and “Oh Sarah” on “Conan.”

Produced by Simpson, A Sailor’s Guide To Earth was written—beginning to end—as a letter to his first child, who arrived during the summer of 2014.

Recorded primarily at Nashville’s The Butcher Shoppe, Simpson was joined in the studio by Grammy Award-winning engineer David Ferguson (Johnny Cash, John Prine, “Cowboy” Jack Clement) and assistant engineer Sean Sullivan. Along with members of his touring band, the album features Dave Roe on bass, Dan Dugmore on steel guitar, Dougie Wilkinson on bagpipes, Yellin and Arthur Cook on cello, Dinklage and LaGrange on violin and special guests The Dap-Kings.

A Sailor’s Guide To Earth is Simpson’s third full-length album and follows his breakthrough, Grammy-nominated 2014 release, Metamodern Sounds In Country Music. Beloved by critics and fans, the record was featured on year-end “best of” lists from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, the Village Voices’ Pazz and Jop, Rolling Stone Country, NPR Music, American Songwriter, Stereogum, the Los Angeles Times, KCRW, Pitchfork, The Washington Post and many others.

A SAILOR’S GUIDE TO EARTH TRACK LIST
1. Welcome To Earth (Pollywog)
2. Breakers Roar
3. Keep It Between The Lines
4. Sea Stories
5. In Bloom
6. Brace For Impact (Live A Little)
7. All Around You
8. Oh Sarah
9. Call To Arms