Tickets: £16
You’re transported somewhere between Mississippi crossroads and a packed UK club night. Blues and country melting together like wax under stage lights.
The Riff Report
Award-winning British blues & roots artist Sunjay performed at The Swallow Theatre in 2017 and 2018 and since then we’ve been trying to find a date for his return and are delighted that finally our diaries have found a fit!
Sunjay’s music is rooted in the blues, but built to sound powerful, modern and alive. His forthcoming tenth album ‘Split The Sheets’ has weight, groove and emotional honesty. His covers are respectful of the source, but unafraid to push songs into a contemporary emotional and sonic space.
Sunjay has previously been a BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards nominee and Winner of the Wath Festival Young Performers Award, as well as twice nominated at the British Blues Awards.
In 2017 Sunjay played the role of Buddy Holly in the touring production of Buddy Holly & The Cricketers. The first song Sunjay learnt to sing and play was Buddy Holly’s ‘Peggy Sue’ and being in the stage show gave Sunjay the opportunity to sing some of his favourite numbers night after night, in front of hundreds of people.
Since then Sunjay has been honing his craft in a long chapter of interpretation and learning and his new album takes everything he’s absorbed over the years and uses it without restraint. The just-released powerful first single, ‘Take Out Some Insurance’, is a bold reimagining of the classic track by Jimmy Reed. It’s garnered great reviews already, and recently was played on Cerys Matthews’ Blues Show on BBC Radio 2.
Sunjay is the antithesis of your typical denim clad dishevelled folk and blues musician. From his perfectly groomed hair to his spotlessly shining winkle picker boots he walks onto the stage every inch the city slicker.
When Sunjay starts to sing and play the guitar however, you are transported to a world where blues and country music meld seamlessly. Sunjay is, without doubt, the real deal.
We are delighted that The Swallow Theatre is one of just two Scottish venues on his summer solo tour.
Duration: approximately 110 minutes.
Recommended age : to be confirmed
A very accomplished and dynamic guitarist, with a mature stage presence and echoes of a young Ralph McTell.
RNR Magazine
One of the UK’s finest young Blues stars.
Iain Anderson, BBC Radio Scotland
One of the best young pickers and singers around.
Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2
Blues doesn’t survive by staying still. It survives because artists like Sunjay keep pushing it forward.
The Riff Report