In the lead-up to his performance at Merrigong Theatre on Friday, 3 November, I caught up with local blues musician Frank Sultana.
You won a major award – the International Blues Challenge (IBC) solo/duo division – in Memphis earlier this year. How did that feel?
The whole Memphis experience was pretty surreal. I was over there just looking to play as much as I could and soak up the atmosphere, meet people, that sort of thing. Competing is a really strange feeling for a musician, well for me it is, so I just treated each night as if it were a show, and just enjoyed myself.
As it drew closer to the final and I was getting through the heats I remember thinking, 'OK, this is getting serious.' The semi-final on the Friday night was tough, there were a lot of gun players, and I was surprised to get through to the final.
The final on the Saturday was at the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, a beautifully restored building built in 1927. The final started at midday, with 12 performances. I drew 2nd last to perform, coming on around 5.30pm , so it was a long day. Around 7pm they announced the results. I was blown away.
You recorded at Sun Studios while you were in the US. How did that come about?
Recording at Sun was something I'd wanted to do for a few years. It was originally planned for 2020/21, but that got put off with most everything else during that time, so when I got through the Sydney Blues Society challenge and I was going to Memphis I got in touch with the engineer there, Daniel Crockett, and we booked a session for the Monday night after the IBC final.
It was a real highlight of the whole Memphis experience, to make music in such a special and significant studio was a career high moment.
Has the award made a difference, opening doors for you?
Yes , winning the IBC has helped to raise my profile and create opportunities. I’ve been working pretty hard at this music for over 13 years, and had established a healthy independent career here, particularly on the east coast.
Winning in January has pushed things up a notch and now it's about enjoying the ride and continuing to evolve, write, record and perform into the next phase.
You are a Kiama local. What's the local scene like?
I moved to Kiama nearly six years ago from Sydney. It's been great for inspiration and having somewhere peaceful and beautiful to come home to from touring.
I think that the blues scene here is a grassroots one, much like what I saw in the USA as far as demographics. We have a pretty good blues festival circuit here, and the blues fans are super supportive and appreciate their live music. We also have some great players.
It's tough being in the arts here in Australia. We have a small population and there are a lot of things stacked against artists that make it hard to get ahead. It was tough before Covid, and it's come back tougher after.
I'm just thankful and continue to work hard and, most of all, enjoy myself as much as I can through it all.
What does next year look like for you?
This year will see out the Ghosts of Sun album tour, which started in June and has taken me around the country and the US. I just returned from Colorado and Las Vegas festival appearances there a month or so ago.
I have a couple of new recording projects I want to release and tour on next year. I’ve collaborated with some good friends of mine and that's always exciting.
In late Jan/early Feb I'll be performing on the Legendary Blues Cruise #40 from Ft Lauderdale Florida with greats like Taj Mahal and Keb Mo, and then I’m looking forward to a great year touring around Australia and overseas again. We have some exciting things to announce in the new year!
Frank Sultana will perform at the Music Lounge in Wollongong this Friday, November 3. More info and bookings via Merrigong.