Buddy Guy and Quinn Sullivan in New Bedford, MA

[tjcurtin1]

A very cool show with Buddy Guy last night - both because of the music and because Buddy seems like such a cool human being. Billed with him as his special guest (on the marquee and tix) was Quinn Sullivan, a local blues phenom who is all of 12 years old, and who Buddy has taken on as a cause. Quinn opened with what turned out to be Buddy's band for an hour - and he was AMAZINGLY good. When Buddy came on, he couldn't stop talking about the kid - after his first hour, he brought Quinn on (who has done a little touring with Buddy since he first called him on this same stage to 'play his 3 licks' when Quinn was 7) to play the rest of the set with him. Buddy was clearly delighted at how the kid could blaze along - as Buddy said, 'not like a kid, but like a 50 year old man' - with whatever Buddy and the band threw at him in the moment. All the time, this kid is the most regular kid you could imagine, typical 12 year old, pudgy faced kid, but he could really play - and as amazingly, really belt out a song, too. Very cool the way Buddy treated him, and the way Quinn looked up to him but had great fun going toe to toe with him. At the end, Buddy left Quinn playing with the band while he handed out picks and signed some autographs, and then, very symbolically I thought, just left Quinn on stage with the band to finish the last song. As Buddy pointedly sang at Quinn from a gospel song, "Child, I wanna know where you been", and later, "Strange brew, boy what's inside of you?". It does make you wonder what someone like that is channeling when they can play like that at 12, having started playing at 5...

http://www.quinnsullivan.me/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinn_Sullivan

I should say that Buddy, at 74, was full of life and put on a dynamic show - man he can jolt you with his voice when he wants, or make the room quiet to hear that high-pitched cry. A great show...

[progrmr]

Awesome! I'll have to check that kid out and then wonder why I even bother to try :)

Buddy is one of my favorites - love his fast and raw picking style on his solos.

[Tig]

Buddy really knows how to put on a great show.

I've seen a few of Quinn's videos, and it is clear the kid has what it takes. I listened to a few tracks off his album, and the only problem is he still has a kid's voice, which makes everything sound, well, like it is made for kids. It will be interesting to see him grow musically over the years.

[tjcurtin1]

Oh, yeah, he definitely has a kids voice, but I was amazed at how he could use it at 12 - he certainly must have done some voice training. In regards to his playing, he not only has the technical ability, but he has a real sensibility for the music; phrasing, inventiveness, attack - very impressive.