Sturgill Simpson is among the most outspoken and perhaps even cantankerous artists on the current music landscape. That hasn't stopped people from wanting to go see him. After releasing the Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds album Mutiny After Midnight, which is only available in physical editions for now, Simpson and his band are about to go tour arenas. But Simpson's "optics" have seemingly cost him a few bucks, and he'd like to tell you about the DC think tank that offered him ten grand and then changed its mind.
On his Instagram story, Sturgill Simpson recently posted screenshots of a pair of emails from an unnamed individual who represents the Atlantic Council, a DC think tank that's been around for a long time. In the first of those emails, the rep says that the Atlantic Council wants to recognize Simpson at its Distinguished Leadership Awards, which went down last month at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, DC. The email makes it clear that Simpson wouldn't have to perform at the awards show but that he'd get $10,000, along with first-class travel and accommodations, to simply appear. Seems like a sweet deal! I'd take it!
But Simpson won't get to take that deal. In the second email that Simpson screenshotted, the rep says, "We've just learned that due to the upcoming Freedom250 events and other factors, the Atlantic Council is changing directions this year with the award." They ended up honoring country legend Tanya Tucker instead.
Over the images of those emails, Simpson wrote, "When an international think tank reaches out to honor you for your impact on the arts but your principal handler at Langley decides the optics are too high profile and exposed so they should give it to someone else (far more deserving like Tanya Tucker) instead. #otherfactors"
