Quinn Sullivan is a beast. There is no other way to put it. He has been rubbing noses with legends since he was in kindergarten, having performed with the likes of Santana, Buddy Guy, and B.B. King. He has consistently held his own onstage with these icons, and now, at just 22 years old, Sullivan is, arguably, one of the best musicians of his time. He dropped a new record called Wide Awake last year, which he has been promoting by playing a plethora of solo shows across the east coast, as well as while serving as the opening act for rocker Beth Hart’s winter tour earlier this year. You’ll also find him on podcasts, Instagram live videos, and anything else he can do to get the word out. He’s back on the road now playing solo shows, including one this past Thursday at the iconic Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, New York, as part of a mini–New York run that also saw him make stops in Woodstock and in New York City. 

Sullivan played Talkhouse trio style, with bassist Kyle Spark and drummer Adam Hanson backing him up. I missed keyboard players Chris Gooch and Will Bryant, both of whom are absolute monsters, and are integral in Quinn’s full band sets. However, the combination of Sullivan, Spark, and Hanson was more than enough to blow the roof off the place. 

These shows are always a healthy mix of original material and classic rock/blues covers, the latter of which the majority of the audience seem to be more interested in. While Talkhouse is a prime hangout spot for a younger Hamptons crowd, it, as well as Daryl’s House and The Falcon, both in upstate New York where I have seen Quinn previously, attract an older, more hipster-ish/”what happened to real music??”-centric group. Not even 15 minutes into the show at The Falcon back in October, which had been entirely originals thus far, an audience member yelled, “PLAY THE BLUES!” Quinn smiled as he looked down at his guitar in between songs and said, “This one is bluesy,” before diving into another original. The reality is that no matter how bluesy his originals may be, the songs contain lyrics about texting, Facetiming, and otherwise vague and occasional bravado-infused stories about the romances of a 20ish-year-old white male. His target audience isn’t particularly interested in this, which is likely why he barrels through a third of Wide Awake in the first 20-25 minutes of the night. 

He did this at Talkhouse, running through originals “Strawberry Rain,” “All Around The World,” “Baby Please,” “Real Thing,” and “How Many Tears” right off the bat. “Strawberry Rain” is a killer opening track, with its deep, funky guitar line that makes the stank face come out real quick. He also showcases some killer vocals in it, particularly his runs, which are, more often than not, unfathomably clean. “Real Thing” isn’t a particularly exciting song (it is my favorite, though), yet he spices it up every time with an extended guitar solo at the tail end of the track that almost always results in some hootin and hollerin from the crowd. 

Just before the halfway point, he breaks out his first cover of the night. It’s “Got To Get Better In A Little While” by Derek and the Dominoes, and you can almost immediately feel him really begin to reel the crowd in. After two more originals, notably a killer extended solo during “Wide Awake,” he went into cover mode again. He tackled DATD’s “Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?” Frank Zappa’s “Black Napkins,” and “Little Wing” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. At that point, Sullivan knows he has the crowd in the palm of his hand. His last cover is a rousing rendition of the Sly & The Family Stone cut “Let Me Have It All,” which involves some audience participation in the form of call-and-response singing. A bit more on-brand than his attempt at getting a bunch of rock-snobs to sing “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston at past shows. 

All kidding aside though, Sullivan’s stage presence is magnetic. Once he closes his eyes and gets that mean yet focused mug on his face, you know he’s no longer in control of what he’s about to do. He does all the rockstar things… eyes closed, mouth gaping open and dramatic guitar lifts during peak moments, hair flipping, etc. His solos are so long, and so intricate, that you get lost in it. You forget to try and figure out where he’s going with it, because he fills up the space so effortlessly. The coolest moment of this show came when, during a solo, he stuck one foot on the front table, at which people were sitting, leaned slightly forward, and with his eyes closed and a sly little smile across his face, continued to plow his way through the section. It was pretty badass. 

He closed the night with, arguably, his best and most commercially viable original, “In A World Without You.” After all those covers, most of the crowd likely had no idea it was his song, but they were fully invested, stomping the ground, banging fists on the tables, and screaming their approval as he went on. Even after almost an hour and 40 minutes, he was vocally on point…. An impressive feat for what, at points, could be an extremely vocally demanding tune. At the songs conclusion, he repeatedly thanked the crowd and left the stage to sign vinyl’s and standard CDs in the corner of the room as Talkhouse got their first dose of Memorial Day weekend craziness, as waves of 20-somethings descended upon the bartenders. 

If you have the chance to see Mr. Sullivan and his band, whether as a full unit, trio, or any iteration, I highly encourage you to do so. He is, truly, on his way to becoming one of the greats of modern-day live performers and it would serve you well to see him in a small room, while you still can. 

You can stream Quinn’s album Wide Awake and other material here. You can also check out Quinn’s touring schedule here, and be sure to follow him on social media via the links below.

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