Grammy Award-winning country Sturgill Simpson was spotted busking outside the Bridgestone Arena as the CMA Awards kicked off in Nashville.
He had his Grammy in his guitar case and two cardboard signs. One says "I don't take requests, but I take questions about anything you want to talk about because fascism sucks."
The other one reads, "struggling country singer... anything helps (All donations go to the ACLU) GOD BLESS AMERICA.
Don't ever change, Sturgill. Don't ever change.
Sturgill Simpson #CMAawards live stream starts in 5 minutes, y?all! pic.twitter.com/tBoz8SGKU4
— Adam Gold (@GoldAdam) November 9, 2017
Here's a live video of him.
The CMA Awards got off to an odd start. Eric Church sang a few lines of "Amazing Grace," but the spotlight quickly shifted to Darius Rucker and Keith Urban singing Hootie and the Blowfish's "Hold My Hand." The curtains then opened to a bevy of country stars singing the song onstage together.
Co-hosts Brad Pasley and Carrie Underwood addressed Las Vegas only in passing, saying that tonight is going to be about celebrating and performing country music.
