Sturgill Simpson to Play Saturday Night Live

sturgill-simpson-001Add yet another accolade to the list of Sturgill Simpson’s growing accomplishments. Announced late Saturday night (12-17) during the latest episode of Saturday Night Live, the surprise contender for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards in February will be the musical guest on the venerable TV staple January 14. The show will be hosted by “Rogue One” actress Felicity Jones. January 14th will be the first new SNL episode in 2017 after the cast goes on a hiatus through the holidays.

The honor for Sturgill shows the just how important the Grammy nomination for A Sailor’s Guide to Earth was to his career. Though the album was doing just fine on its own, the Album of the Year has everyone asking, “Who is Sturgill Simpson?” Well on January 14th, they’ll be able to find out on one of the biggest stages on television. The performance may also be important for Sturgill to get onto the radar of Grammy voters right as they will be filling out their picks. Sturgill is already considered a strong dark horse who could possibly emerge with a plurality of votes in a field that includes the massive heavyweights of Adele and BeyoncĂ©—similar to how Beck won in 2015. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth is also up for Best Country Album at the Grammys.

Sturgill has already done the rounds on many of the evening talk shows, but the Saturday Night Live stage holds a special distinction for artists. Sturgill joins Chris Stapleton and Margo Price as upsurging country performers who’ve played the stage recently.

Simpson is not currently on tour, and was planning to take 2017 off since he’s expecting the birth of his second child. But after the Grammy nominations, he’s said he’s considering to get back to performing and strike while the iron’s hot. Saturday Night Live is a good place to start.

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