NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
If there was one way I would describe Tash Sultana, it would be a one-person jam band. The multi-instrumentalist from Australia makes full use of the available technology and is able to seamlessly able to create music incorporating any number of instruments from guitar, bass, keyboard, and drums to mandolin, trumpet, saxophone, panpipes, and recorder!! A capacity crowd came to the sold out Babeville to party midweek on June 22nd.
The opener was fellow Aussie Josh Cashman, a singer/songwriter just a bit funkier than your typical indie folk singer. He received an immense reaction from the packed house with his beautiful voice and quick wit. A standout song for me was “Twenty-Five” Check out his debut LP “Now I’m Twenty-Five” released in 2020 or his first EP “Instinct” from 2017.
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When I said Tash Sultana was a jam band unto herself, it definitely feels like it, especially if you close your eyes and just listen. The main difference is the crowd; less hippy and more hip, definitely younger, and oddly enough, very little pot. That being said, with Sultana providing the jams, it was more like a DJ at a club. Everyone was dancing all night and the temperature in the venue was probably around 120 degrees! She showed off her versatility right off the bat when she played five different instruments on the very first song! Her talent with not just technically with the instruments but also with engaging the crowd was evident. When someone is screaming “YES” while you’re playing the recorder, you’re doing something right! About halfway through the set, three band members (drums, bass and keys) joined her on stage, which let her focus on the guitar. That is where Sultana’s bread and butter is, with her jamming on that electric guitar…or shredding on the mandolin as the case may be! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a mandolin played that way before. She mentioned that while Babeville was the smallest venue she has played on this tour, it was the most active crowd. Cheers obviously!! She closed out the show with an epic performance of “Blackbird” leaving the fans to filter out to cooler air outside.
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