The more I write about country music, the more I realize I sometimes don’t know anything about it, or at least it feels that way.

There’s what I call traditional: the Johnny Cashes, the Merle Haggards, and the George Straits, for instance. Then there are the country outlaws: the Willies and Waylons and Haggards (and yes, I think Merle fits nicely into both categories).

Then there are the more modern country stars: the Kenny Chesneys, Brad Paisleys, and Miranda Lamberts.

All these performers are top-notch and superstars of their genres and of their time. But then there is Sturgill Simpson – a Jackson County, Ky., native who has hit the big time, I think. I guess it all depends on what you call “the big time.”

Folks in my neck of the woods know him because he is from our beloved Bluegrass State. But I’m not sure how many Top 40 country radio fans know him. He’s country and rock and Americana and bluesy and electronic rock at times, and just when I think he has a traditional-sounding song, it turns out to be anything but.

That’s not a bad thing, believe me. This guy has a sound all his own and a booming voice that is characteristic of outlaw country, but with his own special twist. I must admit, I prefer his more up-tempo, rockabilly kind of hits like “You Can Have the Crown” from his High Top Mountain debut album.

But it was his album A Sailor’s Guide to Earth that landed him in Grammy Land with Best Country Album and a nomination for Album of the Year in 2017.

If anyone has bucked the Nashville sound, it’s Sturgill. He is his own person when it comes to his music and that’s why I like him so much; no cookie-cutter musician here. His latest release is called Sound and Fury, which just hit store shelves.

I would not call it “country,” but I would call it Sturgill. He is one of those performers that many will have to acquire a taste for – but once you do, I think you’ll become a fan, too.

He is currently selling out venues on his U.S. tour and will hit Europe in 2020. If the world doesn’t know him yet, they will. Sounds like the big time to me.