Quinn Sullivan has written his sweetest, saddest song in “Eyes on Me.” Somewhere between old soul, singer-songwriter pop, and a Beatles ballad, “Eyes on Me” pays tribute to his mother, who passed away last year.
The former-guitar prodigy and New Bedford native dealt with the loss of his mother the way he’s dealt with every trauma and obstacle — Sullivan retreated into music.
“Throughout my whole life, music has been the constant in my life,” Sullivan told the Herald. “So I didn’t know what to do but make music. When dealing with this kind of loss, you feel hopeless. But my mom was such a strong person internally and externally. She embodied strength, and what carried me through making this record was her strength, her wisdom, everything she passed on to me.”
“Eyes on Me” is part of new album “Salvation.” From top to bottom, the LP is the most mature, tight and tough record he’s ever done — see Sullivan celebrate the songs June 7 at City Winery.
It’s barely hyperbole when Sullivan says music has been his constant. At 6 years old, he performed on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” At 8, he joined Buddy Guy on stage for a jam. Through his tweens, teens, and early 20s, he played at the Crossroads Guitar Festival, sat in with the Roots on Fallon, toured the world and released four albums. But he’s not a blues ripper anymore, or rather he’s not just a blues ripper — the solo on “Eyes on Me” is laidback, tasteful and tender.
“Sometimes a song doesn’t call for a blistering guitar solo,” he said. “Sometimes it calls for a melodic line. I have always been a fan of guitarists who are incredible songwriters, like Pete Townshend, like Eric Clapton, like Mark Knopfler, like Carlos Santana.”
“These days it’s often about being showy on Instagram and TikTok,” he added. “I can do that stuff but I don’t really care about being flashy anymore.”
Now let’s be clear, “Salvation” includes some absolute scorchers — singles “Salvation (Make Me Wanna Pray)” and “Dark Love” feature Sullivan’s distinctive mix of classic blues and knotty, thorny, heavy, wonderfully ugly rock guitar. But the LP has a lot of nuance across tracks that play with modern pop, rootsy American, and paisley funk — “Salvation” was produced by Minneapolis legend John Fields, who has worked with everyone from the Jonas Brothers to Pink to Soul Asylum.
“When I got into the studio with John, we realized we shared a love for a lot of bands, for instance the Beatles and Todd Rundgren,” Sullivan said. “Those two artists had a lot of influence on these songs.”
Maybe Sullivan has found it easier to write and play with restraint on “Salvation” because he has a side project that’s all about big guitar. Last year, Sullivan joined a few old friends in the Trouble No More project — a group of young all-stars paying tribute to the Allman Brothers.
“I’ve only played two or three shows with the band but we’re going to be doing a ton of stuff this summer,” he said. “My first real show that I ever saw was Dickey Betts at the New Bedford blues festival when I was three or four so this music has been ingrained in my soul for a long time.”
It’s been a tough year for Sullivan, who feels he is just getting back into his career post-COVID. But he’s got a lot of strength to pull from, and serious chops — even if he doesn’t feel the need to show them off on every song.
For details and more tour dates, visit quinnsullivanmusic.com
