Sturgill Simpson Goes ‘Under The Sea’ During Red Rocks Finale

Sturgill Simpson (Johnny Blue Skies) wrapped his 2025 itinerary with a concert at Red Rocks on Wednesday. The second of two shows at the iconic Colorado venue saw Simpson and his band offering an instrumental take on beloved song, “Under the Sea,” and more.

Sturgill launched his final show on the books of 2025 with “Ronin” off his 2019 LP, Sound & Fury followed by “If the Sun Never Rises Again” from Passage du Desir, a record released under the Johnny Blue Skies moniker in 2024. A choice cover of Little Feat‘s “Spanish Moon” came next.

The “Under the Sea” instrumental jam followed “The Storm,” about a quarter of the way through the 40-song set. Sturgill has been playing quite a bit with Grateful Dead members lately, and opened one of Dead & Company‘s GD60 shows in San Francisco. The “Under the Sea” interpretation definitely had a Dead feel about. Sturgill also threw in a tease of one of the Grateful Dead’s staple covers, Merle Haggard‘s “Mama Tried,” into the mix.

Watch a clip of Sturgill Simpson and company on “Under the Sea” below:

There seemed to be an ocean theme as the band also broke into the SpongeBob SquarePants theme. Elsewhere in the concert Sturgill delivered originals favorites such as “Turtles All the Way Down,” “You Can Have the Crown,” “All Around You,” “Breakers Roar” and “Best Clockmaker on Mars.”

The band also delivered Sturgill Simpson-recorded covers such as Moore & Napier’s “Long White Line” and Nirvana‘s “In Bloom.” Additional covers performed included Prince‘s “Purple Rain,” ZZ Top‘s “La Grange” and Led Zeppelin‘s “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman).”

Naturally, Simpson nodded to Joe Walsh with a rendition of “Rocky Mountain Way.” The concert came to a close with a track off Sturgill’s Grammy-winning 2016 LP, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, “Call To Arms.”