Cuttin' Grass, Vol. 1: The Butcher Shoppe Sessions

Simpson had expressed his desire to record a bluegrass album as early as 2017. Both volumes were recorded earlier in 2020 after Simpson had recovered from COVID-19;^[5] he and the musicians on the record performed a livestreamed concert at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on June 5, 2020, as a promise to fans who raised nearly $250,000 for COVID-19 relief.^[6]

Recorded at the Butcher Shoppe recording studio, the album includes various bluegrass musicians such as guitarists Tim O'Brien and Mark Howard, banjoist Scott Vestal, fiddler Stuart Duncan, and mandolinist/backing vocalist Sierra Hull. The album consists of bluegrass re-recordings of previous songs in Simpson's catalog, including not only those from his solo albums, but also those from the band Sunday Valley, of which he was a member prior to beginning his solo career.^[7]

Stephen M. Deusner of Pitchfork rated the album 7.4 out of 10, stating that "As a country artist, Simpson is determinedly subversive; as a bluegrass artist, he’s incredibly conservative. There are none of the abrupt stylistic changes that made [A Sailor's Guide to Earth] sound as big as the world and none of the sonic experiments that made [Metamodern Sounds in Country Music] such a trip. Simpson can’t quite sustain a double album in this style, and Cuttin' Grass loses some steam toward the end. However, there are more than enough bracing moments here to make you wonder what Volume 2 will sound like".^[7] Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album 4.5 out of 5 in the review for AllMusic, concluding that "Part of Simpson's appeal lies in how he blurs genres, so it's a bit ironic that this single-minded collection is one of his best records, but it is: it's an album where the joy in the music's creation is palpable and infectious."^[8] Ross Jones of Holler rated the album 8 out of 10, writing that Simpson “doesn’t just reimagine his songs, he unveils their therapeutic powers at the most essential time,” and praising the record as cohesive and emotionally resonant.^[9]

Per Bandcamp.^[10]

Musical

• Mike Bub – upright bass
• Stuart Duncan – fiddle, background vocals
• Mark Howard – background vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar
• Sierra Hull – mandolin, background vocals
• Miles Miller – percussion, background vocals
• Tim O'Brien – background vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar
• Sturgill Simpson – vocals, rhythm guitar
• Scott Vestal – banjo, background vocals

Technical

• Richard Dodd – mastering
• David Ferguson – producer, engineer, mixer
• Sturgill Simpson – producer
• Sean Sullivan – engineer, mixer