Sturgill Simpson Covers The Osborne Brothers' "Listening To The Rain" on 'Austin City Limits'

Sturgill Simpson is the latest artist featured on the PBS series Austin City Limits, celebrating its 41st season this month. He performed alongside Asleep At The Wheel, back for yet another performance. Simpson closed the show out with a vicious cover of The Osborne Brothers' bluegrass standard "Listening To The Rain," which morphed into T-Rex's "The Motivator."

Simpson's performance is set for broadcast on your local PBS station Saturday Oct. 17, but you can catch a sneak peak of the concert thanks to a video premiere via Stereogum.

During the full set he performed songs from his 2013 debut album High Top Mountain as well as songs from his award winning follow-up release Metamodern Sounds in Country Music.

Simpson's outlaw country style brings a fresh take to the old-timey bluegrass song. He holds down the rhythm on an acoustic guitar while the band's lead guitarist rips through some honky-tonk solos to accompany his impassioned voice. According to Stereogum, the song transitions to a cover of "The Motivator" by T-Rex, but to the untrained ear you wouldn't even notice the change.

Watch the clip below and click on the links to The Osborne Brothers' original version and T-Rex's "The Motivator," to compare the covers.

Simpson's full show debuts on Austin City Limits Saturday Oct. 17 at 9 p.m. ET along with a performance from Asleep At The Wheel, who will joined by The Avett Brothers and Amos Lee for a tribute to Bob Wills.

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Sturgill Simpson, Austin city limits