Grammy Award Winner Sturgill Simpson Launches Fundraiser For Flood Relief In Kentucky

Sturgill Simpson (Sterling Munksgard/Shutterstock.com)

GRAMMY AWARD winning artist STURGILL SIMPSON launched an online fundraising campaign on MONDAY (3/8) for flood relief for his home state of KENTUCKY. He's reopening the merch store for his irreverent “Dick Daddy Survival School,” aka DDSS, at shop.sturgillsimpson.com. One hundred percent of all net proceeds will be donated to "Aspire Appalachia" in JACKSON, KY. 

SIMPSON said in a release, "The APPALACHIAN region of SOUTHEASTERN KENTUCKY was ravaged by severe flooding this past MONDAY. My hometown of JACKSON seemingly suffered the worst of it, especially the immediate areas around PANBOWL LAKE and LAKESIDE where I lived as a child. Over 25% of BREATHITT COUNTY was affected and in JACKSON, a city with a population of roughly just over 2,000, over 1,000 people were displaced or completely lost everything. Some of those who lost everything did not have very much to lose to begin with, and are now literally living in tent cities. It goes without saying this is something weighing extremely heavy on my heart."

He added, “One week later, countless volunteers are still working around the clock managing donation distribution centers, while city and county officials continue to evaluate what can and needs to be done—not only in immediate terms of basic necessities and cleanup supplies, but also long-term to ensure every effort is being coordinated to help as many of those affected as possible rebuild their lives. You guys raised close to a half million dollars this past JUNE, so with total humility and humanity, I am now asking all of you that are able to respectfully blow that number completely out of the water and help a town I care deeply about put itself back together.”

SIMPSON originally launched DDSS merch last summer and raised nearly $500,000 for the SPECIAL FORCES FOUNDATION, EQUITY ALLIANCE and MUSICARES COVID-19 fund. 

SIMPSON is best known for breaking through in the industry in 2014 with his GRAMMY-nominated METAMODERN SOUNDS IN COUNTRY MUSIC album. His music stretches across genres and styles, from the psychedelic soul of 2016's A SAILOR’S GUIDE TO EARTH (GRAMMY-nominated for Album of the Year and winner for Best Country Album) to the fuzzed-out Rock attack of SOUND & FURY in 2019, which is nominated for Best Rock Album at this SUNDAY’s 2021 GRAMMY AWARDS. 

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