Swooping into 2021 like a high plains drifter is Sturgill Simpson and his just-released latest album, The Ballad of Dood and Juanita. The album’s lead single is a Willie Nelson collaboration that highlights the recording’s narrative theme regarding Simpson’s grandfather’s quest to rescue his wife, Juanita after she’s kidnapped by a bandit named Seamus McClure. Via press release, Simpson notes, “I’ve only ever really been interested in concept albums, citing Nelson’s 1975 album Red Headed Stranger as an influence on his current release.