Marissa R. Moss
View all posts by Marissa R. Moss August 7, 2026
Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Sturgill Simpson might be gearing up for his own tour as Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds this fall, but he joined the Black Keys Thursday night at Nashville’s the Pinnacle for a cover of the soul classic “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”
Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney played the first of two hometown dates to close out the North American leg of their Peaches n’ Kream run. Wielding his cherry Gibson guitar, Simpson reportedly came to the stage without any announcement from the band, helping to extend the song into a dynamic, nearly seven-minute psychedelic blues jam. The Keys were also joined by Marcus King for a cover of Willie Griffin’s “When There’s Smoke, There’s Fire.”
Contrary to previous rumors, Simpson and the Black Keys frontman have not previously collaborated. But Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds’ new LP, Mutiny After Midnight, was recorded at Auerbach’s Easy Eye Studios in Nashville. Auerbach and Simpson also both shared a close relationship with the late John Prine.
