Sturgill Simpson has been hailed as the second coming of Hank Williams and Merle Haggard. But despite a lot of lip service, country radio and the Nashville establishment have failed to give him his due. Simpson doesn’t care what they think, but he does care about hypocrisy, and he let loose this week on Facebook.
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Here are the highlights of a pair of Sturgill Simpson’s Facebook posts.
Nashville’s Treatment of Merle Haggard
“In the last chapter of his career and his life, Nashville wouldn’t call, play, or touch him. He felt forgotten and tossed aside…”
“I find it utterly disgusting the way everybody on Music Row is coming up with any reason they can to hitch their wagon to his name while knowing full and damn well what he thought about them.”
The Academy Of Country Music
“If the ACM wants to actually celebrate the legacy and music of Merle Haggard, they should drop all the formulaic cannon fodder bullshit they’ve been pumping down rural America’s throat for the last 30 years along with all the high school pageantry, meat parade award show bullshit and start dedicating their programs to more actual Country Music.”
Nashville And The Music Industry
“Some days, this town and this industry have a way of making we wish I could just go sit on Mars and build glass clocks.”
“I fully realize that as I type this, meetings and conversations are taking place on music Row to ensure I am blackballed from the industry and that’s perfectly fine with me. I’m not sure how you can blackball somebody you don’t acknowledge in the first place anyway.”
Going #1 On His Own
“Yet, even though they mostly go out of their way to ignore artists like myself and Jason Isbell, I assure you they are more than aware of our existence. They are also well aware that we don’t need them. Our last albums went to #1 without any help from the Mainstream Country Music establishment…and our next albums will too.”
On The CMAs
“I should also go ahead and add here that whether or not I am nominated for a CMA award this year, I will not be attending the ceremony…”
“P.S. Fuck this town. I’m moving.”