Sturgill Simpson Held A Charity Livestream Concert In An Empty Ryman Auditorium

Looking to treat fans to a much-needed live performance, Sturgill Simpson livestreamed a concert from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The auditorium, much like other large venues around the country, is closed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The livestreamed concert comes nearly a year after Simpson shared his Sound & Fury album, for which he toured during the early part of 2020.

Simpson was joined by Stuart Duncan on the fiddle, Mike Bub on bass, Sierra Hull on the mandolin, Scott Vestal one the banjo, Tim O’Brien and Mark Howad on the guitar, and Miles Miller drums. It was a group Simpson described as “most likely the greatest bluegrass band on the planet tonight.” Strugill and company performed for over an hour in the empty Ryman Auditorium. The livestream also doubled as a charity drive, with proceeds going to the Special Forces Foundation, the Equity Alliance, and the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.

The livestream performance comes nearly three months after Sturgill was forced to cancel the US leg of his tour due to the coronavirus. He later revealed that he came down with Covid-19 symptoms after sharing a picture of himself at his local ER in mid-March. Despite the many symptoms, Simpsons said the doctors would not test him as he “did not fit testing criteria.” A month later he received the test at a testing facility outside a National Guard depot where he tested positive. Sturgill has since recovered from the virus.

You can watch the livestreamed performance in the video above.

Sturgill Simpson is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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