A rare artist who has always sounded older than his years, Quinn Sullivan has been touring the world since he was 11-years-old. Playing storied venues such as Madison Square Garden, the Hollywood Bowl, and RFK Stadium in Washington D.C., India's Mahindra Blues Festival, Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival, and three Montreux Jazz Festivals. On several occasions, Quinn Sullivan has shared the stage with his hero and mentor, Buddy Guy and Carlos Santana.
This Massachusetts native has taken the abundant skills of his youth and, now as a young adult, lets them blossom and steer him into new directions of artistry and creativity. Having developed genuinely jaw-dropping skills as a guitar player, Quinn Sullivan's more recent learning curve has been with pen and paper as a songwriter.
With the latest release of Quinn Sullivan's debut single, "All Around The World," from his forthcoming album, 'Wide Awake,' Quinn's undeniable talents wash over us in a Rock forward quintessence that embodies his magnetic persona. Fueling the raw emotion behind the artistic versatility that he fluently exudes. Quinn Sullivan's buttery vocals capture a warm embrace with the smooth harmonies doused in effervescent fusion.
You can pick up on the consummate atmosphere that Quinn Sullivan has a knack for creating. As he sheds the lyrical content that takes you to a simmering ambiance of love powering the world's energy, Quinn Sullivan allows us to see into his universe as he puts forth his optimism and giving heart. Pairing the earnest honesty delivered on this track with eye-catching visuals, Quinn Sullivan has us swooning over the passion-filled performance he radiates in a rustic environment with a classic 1950's vehicle, his prized guitar, and projected scenery for Quinn Sullivan to thrive in. The bright colors used in this video match the lively content that is driven home in the quality of the songwriting.
As Quinn Sullivan continues to establish his name, he emphasizes the themes and messages that he stands for. It is no wonder why he has continuously flourished in the elements of success that he continues to experience.
Hello Quinn, welcome to BuzzMusic, and congratulations on your latest release of, “All Around The World.” What inspired the song?
Thank you! The song began as an idea that my producer and I were messing around with on the guitar. I remember this particular song coming together pretty quickly. The song, lyrically, is mainly inspired by what was and what is going on in the world today. It’s about a guy who has a dream one night of a world where there was nothing but peace and he’s talking about a fictional world where everyone is coming together as one and a world where there are unity and good vibes flowing through the air. I have to also mention that this song was written way before we went into a pandemic, but as 2020 began to unfold and as I was watching how things were turning out, this song particularly became more relevant to me so ultimately it felt very important to me to have this be the first single that came out. I feel like people need a song about hope and optimism and that’s the message I want to spread to people during these crazy times.
You’ve had the pleasure of performing on national television programs such as Ellen, Jimmy Fallon, and Oprah, to name a few. How have you been able to adapt to the new wave of online performances with the events of 2020 leading into 2021? What do you miss the most about live performances?
Those are all memories I hold close to me. I feel so honored to have been able to perform on national TV numerous times and certainly have been able to check off a lot of those opportunities on my bucket list. I have to say, it took me a minute to adjust to online performances. That being said, I’ve been able to now adjust as best as I can to do them because I feel as though it’s so important to stay in touch with your fans, and my fans mean so much to me, so if we’re not able to physically be in the same room together right now, the closest thing we have is doing online performances and live streams, which you can get creative with nowadays. What I miss the most about live performances is the direct connection you’re able to have with your audience. I think most artists would agree that it’s the greatest feeling in the world when you’re on stage and there’s a crowd of people, whether it’s 100 people or 10,000 people, singing your song. I can’t think of any better feeling and I really hope we’re able to do it again soon.
Could you please take us into the vision for the music video? Was this always your initial vision? What was the process like for you?
This music video was an absolute blast to make! Trevor Banks, who directed the video, really brought my vision to life. The idea I had was to have the theme of the entire video be centered around people of all walks of life coming together and showing positivity and kindness around the world, which reflects the song’s meaning perfectly. Trevor brought in the idea of having that same theme projecting on a projector throughout the entire video, which really tied it all together for me. We also wanted to have a classic, vintage car to add that authentic, “all American” vibe to the video and I feel like it also brought in such a colorful visual that ended up looking really cool. We shot the whole thing in about 6 hours in Jersey City in an old warehouse, which made a lot of sense visually because it adds a lot of character and depth to the video. It made the most sense to film at that location because of what we were trying to get out of it, which was having the vibe be timeless as well as modern. I feel as though Trevor and I really nailed our vision for what originally started as a conversation on the phone that ended up turning into something that went above our expectations and ultimately it ended up being my favorite music video I’ve made so far.
How have you found yourself growing as an artist over the past few years?
I feel like the last few years have been filled with a lot of growth and a lot of learning about myself and who I really am as an artist. I would say the most important lesson I’ve learned is you have to go with what your gut is telling you, and that goes for just about any decision you make in life, whether that’s a minor or major decision. You have to be truthful about what you want and what makes you happy and what brings you fulfillment. In my case, going from the “Kid guitar prodigy” to the adult singer/songwriter has been a challenging switch, because everyone assumes that you’re the savior of something, or they have certain expectations of you and truthfully I don’t think one person can save any genre of music. It takes an army of people to do something like that. When I was about 12 years old, I made up my mind about what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and that was to be a singer, a songwriter, and a guitarist. People will try and put you into a box because it’s easy for the industry to market you as a specific thing, but to be honest, I have always considered myself to be a genre-less artist. I make music and listen to music that moves me, and whether that genre is soul, or rock and roll, or even pop, it’s all one form of music to me. My favorite artists are genre-less, whether it’s the Beatles, or more contemporary artists like Tame Impala or Marcus King, or John Mayer, these are all people who are just making incredible, soulful music that connects with all walks of life, so I’m trying to follow in their footsteps and create my own lane that I can live in for a while.
I know it’s hard to pin down, but what would you consider to be the main message you're trying to deliver as an artist, through your music?
The main message that I’m trying to deliver as an artist is the idea of unity, positivity, and themes of love and loss, and the question of how to overcome the negative parts of life. We live in a very dark society right now, and I don’t need to get into specifics because we all know what they are, but I feel an obligation to try my best to bring joy into people’s lives with my music. I’m sure I will evolve as a person as I get older, and I always want to be changing and learning but right now I feel that it’s my mission to spread positivity through my music and I feel lucky to have a platform that I’m able to share all of this with my fans. I sometimes struggle with staying in the present moment because I’m always thinking about the future, but I feel like it’s important to try and focus on the moment and not let yourself get too far ahead of anything. Carlos Santana, who is a good friend of mine and a huge inspiration, once texted me these three words randomly. The words are “Expand, Extend, Transcend.” For some reason, those words have stuck to me in a deep way and they are a guiding light for what I always aim for in my career, and sums up what I hope to always be achieving musically and personally.