Critic's Pick: Johnny Blue Skies and the Dark Clouds

Sturgill Simpson is always reinventing himself. The Americana iconoclast could’ve dined out on his reputation as mainstream country’s foremost pain in the ass for decades. Thank goodness he hasn’t done that; the music probably wouldn’t have been nearly as exciting. Simpson’s second album under his alter ego Johnny Blue Skies, Mutiny After Midnight, is a disco-country-funk ripper. It’s a bit of a departure from Johnny Blue Skies’ rock-centric first release, Passage du Desir, harkening back to some of the groovier tracks on A Sailor’s Guide to Earth and Metamodern Sounds in Country Music. JBS and his killer backing band the Dark Clouds — guitarist Laur Joamets, bassist Kevin Black, drummer Miles Miller, and keyboardist and saxophonist Robbie Crowell — will take the stage for a hometown arena show on Friday. Bring your earplugs.

8 p.m. at Bridgestone Arena

501 Broadway