Imagine, just imagine you are a country music artist. And you release an album that is so radically different from anything Nashville has ever heard, that the industry is basically speechless. And instead of ignoring you, the Grammy voters hand you the award for Best Country Album. That is exactly what happened with Sturgill Simpson.

The production choices on Metamodern are deliberately psychedelic. The guitar work incorporates surf rock tremolo, the keyboards lean into swirling organ tones, and the vocal harmonies have this eerie, otherworldly quality that sounds more like Pink Floyd than Merle Haggard.

• Today we are taking a deep dive into Sturgill Simpson
• He grew up in Jackson, Kentucky, a small town in the eastern part of the state
• He served in the United States Navy, which is where a lot of his worldview was formed
• His second album, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, is basically a thesis on expanding what country music can be
• He turned down massive record deals and chose to self -release his music