Chris Stapleton will perform at Madison Square Garden for the Grammy ceremony tonight, and he might go home with the awards for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Album. No matter how that turns out, his visit to 30 Rock for last night's Saturday Night Live will be one to remember.
For his second SNL appearance (the first was in 2016), Stapleton was joined by his band, including his wife and fellow songwriter Morgane Stapleton and producer Dave Cobb, plus a very special guest: the man who picked up last year's Grammy for Best Country Album, Sturgill Simpson (also an SNL vet). The augmented fire-breathing outfit ripped and grinned on two tunes from the second volume of Stapleton's From A Room. Above, see "Hard Livin'," about the toll taken by a rough-and-tumble life, and below, "Midnight Train to Memphis," about sweating out the last day of a prison sentence.
There's an argument to be made that they're playing blues-rock rather than country, but whatever you want to call it, it's a blast of shreddy goodness from two of today's top country performers — one of whom has been warmly received by mainstream country while the other has been virtually ignored (not that it's stopped him from dominating). This may be a one-off collaboration, but seeing Stapleton return the favor when Simpson plays this year's Bonnaroo (or a repeat when Stapleton headlines Forecastle) would be a boon to either lineup.
