By David DeRocco

Standing on a stage jamming with blues legends Buddy Guy and B.B. King is about as close to a spot in heaven as you can get for a guitar player. For Quinn Sullivan, that extraordinary experience at New York’s famed Beacon Theatre was even more remarkable given the fact he was just nine years old at the time.

 “I can’t even put into words what that was like,” said Sullivan, the New Bedford, Massachusetts guitar prodigy who’s been wowing audiences since picking up the guitar at the age of three. “I wasn’t even supposed to go to New York, but Buddy and I were at the Boston show and BB invited me. I was so star struck but at the same time, this is what anyone in their life would give an arm and a leg for. It’s kind of cliché to say it, but you have to pinch yourself. I was so thankful.”

 Now 17 years old and touring in support of his third and most recent album, Midnight Highway, Sullivan continues to rack up incredible experiences thanks to his virtuosity with the guitar. A second gig with B.B where the legend invited Sullivan to play his treasured “Lucille” guitar, sharing concert stages with the likes of Eric Clapton, Los Lobos, Derek Trucks and the Foo Fighters, appearances on Ellen, The Tonight Show, Oprah and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and a recent tour of Europe have all been part of a whirlwind career that was almost inevitable given his early exposure to music.

 “My parents had so much music going on in the house. That was one of those things that was so primary to me, listening to music. I remember being three years old with headphones on, and my parents playing me great music like the Beatles, the Stones, the Allman Brothers and Grateful Dead. I was three when they bought me a little guitar for Christmas. I think I knew by the age of five I wanted this to be my career, I didn’t want to be working in a factory. I wanted to play music.”

 Sullivan’s musical influences are very much woven into the tracks on Midnight Highway, an album that sees Sullivan trying to take his music in other directions while staying true to his blues roots.

 “With this album, it wasn’t quite a detour but we wanted to see how far we could go,” explained Sullivan, who covers the George Harrison classic “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” with exacting perfection. “I wanted to do an album that wasn’t just one type of music, I wanted something out of the ordinary, to do songs people might not have thought I’d do. It’s a step up from my first two albums. My voice is stronger, the songs are stronger. That’s the goal – to keep getting better.”

 As for his upcoming show at FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, the well-travelled Sullivan says he approaches the stage with an attitude he’s learned from his blues mentor.

 “We try to give it our all every night. It’s one of those things I try to keep in mind, something I learned from Buddy. Whether you’re playing for 10 people or 10,000 people, every show I try to give it everything. I don’t care what my attitude is when I wake up, I make sure when I get to the stage you’re going to see a show. I play for the audience. We do a bunch of different things, just come expecting a lot of loud guitar.”

For more details, visit https://www.firstontariopac.ca/Online/.