Sturgill Simpson Joins The Black Keys In Nashville

The Black Keys returned to Nashville on Thursday for the first of two shows at The Pinnacle, closing out the summer North American leg of their Peaches ‘n Kream World Tour. Sturgill Simpson (Johnny Blue Skies) was among the guests with sat-in with the band during the performance.

Simpson hadn’t performed live since wrapping his 2025 tour at Red Rocks last summer. The Kentucky-bred singer-songwriter came out towards the end of The Black Keys’ main set for “I Heard It Through The Grapevine.”

Thursday’s performance marked guitarist Dan Auerbach, drummer Patrick Carney and company’s first “Grapevine” since May 2025. The Black Keys initially debuted their cover of Gladys Knight & The Pips’ 1967 hit single in 2023.

Sturgill Simpson emerged with his Gibson ES-335 guitar in hand. Simpson shredded multiple solos and traded licks with both Auerbach and English guitarist Barrie Cadogan (aka Little Barrie), who has been touring as part of The Black Keys’ backing band.

Watch Simpson team with The Black Keys on “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” via fan-shot video below:

Sturgill Simpson wasn’t the only guitarist to make a guest appearance with The Black Keys last night. Earlier in the evening, opener Eddie 9V joined the band for “Just Couldn’t Tie Me Down,” a song featured on their 2004 LP Rubber Factory. Nashville resident Marcus King came out later to let it rip on a cover of Willie Griffin’s “Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire.”

The Black Keys wrap their North American run tonight at The Pinnacle. Carney and Auerbach bring the band to Europe later this month before concluding the tour this fall with more dates across the U.S. and Canada.

Sturgill Simpson is gearing up to launch his Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds 2026 Tour on September 4 in Austin. Simpson will be on the road through October 30.

Setlist

Set: Little Black Submarines, I Got Mine, Fever, Gold On The Ceiling, You Got To Lose, Just Couldn’t Tie Me Down [1], Man On A Mission, Everlasting Light, Next Girl, Lo-Hi, Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire [2], Tighten Up, Howling For You, She Does It Right, Heavy Soul, I Heard It Through The Grapevine [3], Wild Child, She’s Long Gone

Encore: Weight Of Love, Lonely Boy

• [1] w/ Eddie 9V
• [2] w/ Marcus King
• [3] w/ Sturgill Simpson