Tash Sultana: Wild energy and maximalism

The announcement of Tash Sultana as the first confirmed Live at the Marquee act last October drew many blank faces on Leeside.

However, there was little of that ignorance on display when the Australian multi-instrumentalist walked on stage to Bob Marley’s ‘Is This Love’ at the famous tent on Wednesday night.

Clad in sweatpants and in bare feet, the 24 year old promptly launched into a reggae-infused extravaganza of impromptu guitar riffing, vocal acrobatics and just about as many instruments as one person can play without being sent into a head-spin.

Despite being arguably the least known act on this year’s bill, Sultana has evidently built up a core legion of support since 2016, when an online video of the artist jamming at home was posted online, garnering one million views in five days.

Since then, Sultana’s career has gone from strength to strength, subsequently selling out a world tour and releasing her debut album ‘Flow State’ last year.

Sultana can play 20 instruments, and the Cork crowd, slightly skewed towards those under 30, were treated to an impressive medley of guitar, drum pads, flute and trumpet.

Early press interviews with Sultana were initially focused on the artist’s identity and back story; Sultana is non-binary and spoke in the past about having to undergo therapy for drug-induced psychosis when they were 17.

To focus elsewhere other than on the music now though would be unfair; Sultana is an extremely talented musician, notably on guitar, and each impassioned riff was met with exuberance from the Cork crowd.

Accompanied by swirling technicolour visuals, the concert was an almost extended one-person jam, Sultana gleefully hopping from one instrument to the next, all the time tinkering with an arsenal of loop pedals.

There’s nothing understated about Tash Sultana, from the frequent vocal acrobatics to the Hendrix-esque, head-thrown-back kneeling guitar solos. ‘More is more’ clearly applies here, with the result that the crowd sometimes became lost in the indulgence, the lack of structure to the music making it difficult to stay totally engaged throughout.

Excellent breakout hit ‘Jungle’ received the warmest reception of the night, Sultana thanking the crowd after the “strangest f*cking day” during which their tour bus broke down on the way to Cork, delaying their arrival by hours.

If this is to be the last year of Live at the Marquee, then Tash Sultana will no doubt go down as one of the riskiest bookings in the event’s 14 year history. Given the enthusiasm of the Cork crowd on Wednesday though, it was one worth taking.