QUINN SULLIVAN CRUSES MIDNIGHT HIGHWAY IN THE STUDIO AND ON THE ROAD It can be argued that Quinn Sullivan has been a real music professional for more than 75 per cent of his life. He’s shared concert stages with Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Los Lobos, Taj Mahal, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks and opened for B.B. King who actually loaned him his treasured “Lucille” guitar for the occasion. He has performed on concert and festival dates throughout the United States, including such venues as the Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Garden and worked overseas at both the Montreux Jazz to India’s Mahindra Blues Festivals. He’s also played several editions of the Experience Hendrix Tour, backed by Billy Cox, Jimi’s original bassist. He’s appeared on national TV with guest shots on Ellen (twice), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Oprah, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and CBS News. His third album, Midnight Highway, drops just as he embarks on a European tour that kicks off in Scotland at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall on June 30th. Yes, Quinn Sullivan has packed a lot of extraordinary experience into the span of his decade-long career and that’s even more remarkable when you consider that he only turned 17 this spring. Midnight Highway, produced by multiple GRAMMY® winner Tom Hambridge who also does double duty as Quinn’s studio and road drummer. The album is yet another milestone in a pursuit that has seen Quinn jamming with kids music combo Toe Jam Puppet Band at the age of three, appearing on network television (Ellen, performing a Beatles-inspired version of “Twist and Shout”) when he was six and, at eight, being taken under the wing of blues legend Buddy Guy whose protégé he remains to this day. He’ll be with Guy for the Glasgow concert that is followed by a string of dates in England, his third Montreux Jazz Festival appearance (this time on a bill with ZZ Top), plus performances in Zurich, Paris, Rotterdam, Perugia and then back to the states in July for performances in his native New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. It’s another action-filled summer for Quinn whose youth belies his professionalism. The fact of Quinn’s age and his enduring relationship with Buddy Guy is certainly notable but so, too, is his total dedication to his craft. “I wanted to see how far we could get musically on this album,” he commented from his family’s home in New Bedford, Mass. “I had a lot more creative input in this one and was more active in writing so it’s something of a mixture. I didn’t want to completely break away from the blues, that’ll always be my home ground, but I just wanted to stretch out.” As his voice has changed since the last album, Quinn has been honing his vocal chops. “Mastering the vocals is the result of a lot of playing and touring and I went to a vocal coach who was very helpful in making my voice stronger. I’ll admit I hit an awkward stage with my voice when it was changing a few years ago but now things have evened out and I know both my limits and capabilities. I like the way things have worked out so far.” Quinn confides, “My major goal now as an artist is to get into songwriting more” and he’s well on his way to achieving that with the new album for which he had a hand in writing two of the stand-out tracks, “Eyes For You” and “Lifting Off.” One of the other songs that Quinn tackled is George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” While Quinn will forever be rooted in the blues, his love of the Beatles is truly transcendent so every effort was made to replicate the Harrison classic as faithfully as possible. Producer Hambridge remarked, “We really tried to make it sound like it was off the White Album so we researched everything about the track, where the mike placement should be, how to get the organ to sound like the original. Quinn is a Beatle nut so, of course, he really loved that.“