Sturgill Simpson’s “Cuttin’ Grass” Sees Strong Chart Debut
Without any physical product being sold yet (it’s still being manufactured), Sturgill Simpson’s surprise bluegrass album Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1 The Butcher Shoppe Sessions reprising 20 songs from his catalog in bluegrass form sees a surprisingly strong debut in the charts, bolstered significantly by big streaming numbers.
Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1 debuts this week at #2 on the Billboard Country Albums chart thanks to songs from the title being streamed a total of 12,401,961 times during its debut week. Add on top of that 10,148 album downloads, and 3,492 in songs sales, and it was edged out only slightly by Luke Combs and What You See Is What You Get, which earned 21,779 total equivalent album units taking into consideration sales, streaming and downloads to Sturgill’s 20,332.
If physical product had been available—which accounts most strongly on the album charts—Sturgill would have surely been at #1. Both CDs and vinyl copies of Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1 are expected to be available and ship by December 8th. The numbers will also be good enough to put Simpson at #1 on both the Billboard Folk/Americana chart, and the dedicated Bluegrass chart. Cuttin’ Grass also comes in at #24 on the all-genre Billboard 200.
Sturgill Simpson is part of a select group of non mainstream-supported artists who’ve been turning the tables on the mainstream on the albums charts in recent years with strong debuts. Sturgill’s Grammy-winning record A Sailor’s Guide to Earth debuted at #1 in country in 2016, and #3 overall. His last studio album—the more rock-oriented Sound & Fury—debuted at #3 in both country and rock.
Cuttin’ Grass is also Sturgill Simpson’s first album since becoming an independent artists again after releasing his last two albums on Atlantic and Elektra. Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1 was released via Sturgill’s own High Top Mountain Records distributed by Thirty Tigers.
“This album also begins a new phase for my career. I’m starting back the way I started out, on my own record label,” Sturgill said in a lengthy letter to fans. “I’m realizing more and more every day what I already knew, which is that I was always supposed to be an independent artist. I’m just trying to look forward and create without any industry timelines or narratives and all the creative restrictions that inevitably come with them. The real benefit is that I’ve completely fallen back in love with music again.”
Collaborators on the Cuttin’ Grass album include fiddler Stuart Duncan, Sierra Hull on mandolin and backing vocals, banjo player Scott Vestal, Tim O’Brien and Mark Howard on guitar, and Mike Bub on bass. Sturgill’s drummer Miles Miller also took part in the sessions that were produced by David “Ferg” Ferguson at The Butcher Shoppe in Nashville. The album came about after Simpson challenged his fans to raise money for The Special Forces Foundation and various other charities, promising to release a new record if they reached a certain goal.
King Honky Of Crackershire
October 26, 2020 @ 10:57 am
Trig,
Are you gonna go Monday, Wednesday, Friday on these Simpson articles? Or will it be random? Please don’t do two in the same day.
Trigger
October 26, 2020 @ 11:29 am
Oh quit your whining. I visit your mom’s house more than I write about Sturgill.
🙂
King Honky Of Crackershire Is Your Owner
October 26, 2020 @ 11:50 am
I don’t believe you. With her being a senior citizen, there’s no way she could accommodate 4 visits per week, regardless of how little you might be.
Jerry Clower's Ghost
October 26, 2020 @ 1:40 pm
There’s a lot of interesting things going on here. Trig is back to stanning over Sturgill, and only a few weeks after declaring he wasn’t going to write about him again (understandable tho considering he’s back to making our kind of music). And Honky can’t seem to get it thru his head that his attention and commenting in regards to Sturgill is exactly why he stays popular. Honky, the best way to get people to not talk about Sturgill is to quit flappin’ your damn gums.
Trigger
October 26, 2020 @ 1:58 pm
I never said I wasn’t going to write about Sturgill again. I went out of my way to say I would if it was relevant to country music. I just said I didn’t feel I was obligated to write about him if it wasn’t relevant to country music, especially due to the polarizing nature of his personality.
I always have, and likely always will publish chart stories whenever an independent artist does well. I’ve done it for Blackberry Smoke, Aaron Watson, Jason Isbell, Colter Wall, Tyler Childers, Whiskey Myers, and others. This article is very much in line with emphasizing how the non radio side of country continues to bite into the mainstream’s market share.
Rileyben
October 26, 2020 @ 2:05 pm
Sturgill is so badass he is only going to cover himself from now on
Phil
October 26, 2020 @ 3:03 pm
Amazing their are geniuoses lke stutgill who dont get played . Similar to what if djs didnt play the beatles stones or hendrix. Sailers guide maybe best countfry album ever with meta modern country nipping at its heels
18 Dales and a dozen comments
October 26, 2020 @ 3:06 pm
the only thing that could make matters worse is that his mom was a late nite ER nurse
I’d also like to specify that this is in no way a dig towards Honky, I just wanted to show off my country music knowledge in front of everyone. Honky is one of my favorite commenters at the moment and, in all likelihood, the front runner for 2020 Saving Country Music Commenter of the Year in my book.
Di Harris
October 26, 2020 @ 4:19 pm
Come on Honky,
That was FUNNY.
King Honky Of Crackershire
October 28, 2020 @ 7:31 am
Di,
Yes, of course. Mom-liners are classic and versatile.
However, in this particular instance, I believe my retort overpowered Trigger’s well placed mom-liner.
Di Harris
October 28, 2020 @ 2:11 pm
Nope.
Trigger won that round.
: D
Jumping' Jack Flash
October 26, 2020 @ 5:54 pm
That said, Trigger has to cover the LOONA thing now 🙂
Hank Charles
October 26, 2020 @ 11:33 am
Awesome to see.
The tweets with the K-Pop fans losing their minds over the #1 iTunes Store downloads spot were great too.
Hopefully this inspires some people to check out the music that wouldn’t otherwise. It won’t have the same crossover impact as an enigma like Billy Strings, but it’s a nice spotlight for bluegrass nonetheless.
Slam
October 26, 2020 @ 1:57 pm
I thInk it’s great that Cuttin Grass is Sturgill admitting Sound and Fury was garbage. The first step is admitting there’s a problem.
Out in the woods
October 26, 2020 @ 2:35 pm
Your opinion is garbage
Double J
October 26, 2020 @ 2:52 pm
Sound and Fury is, like, one of the best hard rock albums of all time. You have to like hard rock music to appreciate just how awesome it is. When I crank “Best Clockmaker on Mars,” feels like I can bench press a semi-truck or bust through a concrete wall like the cool-aid man, OH YEAH! To have the same guy be so good at country AND hard rock is quite the feat. As much as I like “Cuttin’ Grass,” I also hope we get more new hard rock from Sturgill in the future in addition to some new country stuff.
Banjo King
October 27, 2020 @ 6:26 am
That’s a ridiculous statement. Sturgill’s sound has changed on every album, granted more drastically on some than others. He clearly likes trying new things and new sounds and moving on to the next, and he’s always been at home with bluegrass. To say this is album is him somehow disavowing Sound & Fury is incorrect and is simply your own strong biases being projected onto his work
who cares
October 26, 2020 @ 4:19 pm
You being out in the woods is garbage, you’ve not left your basement in years! 🙂
I did like Sound and Fury overall and would not call it “garbage”, it’s just not country. I do not feel betrayed he no longer makes music like “you can have the crown”, I just appreciate the fact he made it.
However I do wonder if that annoying anime dance routine in “a good look” is one of his err ahem “visions” after chillin and smokin. It’s the only thing that can be plausible to me as to where it came from.
Big Cat
October 26, 2020 @ 5:06 pm
If this album isn’t a 10 out of 10 I don’t know what the fuck is.
I can’t stop listening to it
Hey Arnold
October 26, 2020 @ 6:02 pm
Speaking of strong charts…
Luke Combs might top the Billboard 100 chart next week with the very basic “Forever After All”. This would be the first for a country act since Carrie Underwood’s Coronation song from American Idol.
Lonestar’s Amazed topped the chart in 2000
But what’s worthwhile on Combs’ part is that it might debut at #1. In its first week. That’s impressive.
His only competition seems to be Ariana Grande. Coming in #2 is still huge
Toby Keith
October 30, 2020 @ 7:48 am
it’s not a phenomenal song, but at least a moderately Country country artist is having major success. Sort of reminds me of me in the early-2000s.
Brent Johnson
October 26, 2020 @ 6:37 pm
Is it that good or are people just that excited he’s back to a sound more akin to how he started?
Robert Gill
October 26, 2020 @ 7:09 pm
Again the best Bluegrass on the Market in years like say was not a Simpison Fan but he kicked butt with this ” Cutin Grass ” The best ive heard in a long time being 75 years of age and Bluegrasser I have heard a song or 2 so Sturgill if you come to Chattanooga Tn .and Do a show would like to know when so I can make arrangements to shake your hand good job my friend ! THANKS
D
Dawg Fan
October 27, 2020 @ 8:05 am
Sturgill can be a polarizing figure. But whether you like him or not, Cuttin’ Grass is a damn fine album.
Moondog
October 27, 2020 @ 7:20 pm
Hopefully Volume 2 is titled Go Fuck Yourself for all you whiney ass bitches
Tammy Ramsey
October 28, 2020 @ 2:03 pm
If you listen to Outlaw Country on XM , you’ll hear a lot of Sturgill and I’ve become a fan of his.
That’s one reason I dig Outlaw Country, they play many lesser known artist who are really fantastic. Mojo Nixon has incredible taste in music, if only he would stop the Incredibly annoying ‘Outlaw Country” yell, once a day would suffice.
Double J
October 28, 2020 @ 8:42 pm
I was listening to Sound & Fury today and I think it is Sturgill at his all-time best. This Bluegrass album, as well as ALL his other albums are great, but they are not Sturgill at his best. You know why? ‘Cause he’s a hecking GUITAR HERO! This guy has heavier riffs than Tony Iommi and wails harder than Hendrix. You can’t keep that kind of guitar hero ability under wraps for long…It’s gonna have to come out again, and only heavy-ass rock ‘n roll has a place for it. You all though Sturgill was going to be the next Waylon but I hope he’s the next Zakk Wylde and brings back guitar heroes. I look forward to the Sturgill with Black Label Society tour in 2021 🙂
Tom McNair
October 30, 2020 @ 7:46 am
“Cutting Grass” – that NaME remInds m e of cutting grSas for Cash asa child during the grEt depression. Yes, I’m 93 (my 21-year old great-grandson introduced me to this web page)