Tash Sultana shows Berkeley the power of a solo artist

When I saw Tash Sultana’s name posted on campus a few weeks ago, my heart skipped a few beats and I immediately flashed back to the first time I heard her. I was living out some teen movie love-fling, studying abroad in Florence and dating a sweet Italian guy named Fabio. We were on our first date and, of course, hitting each other with cold hard questions about music. He pulled out his phone and showed me Tash, who was playing in what looked like a living room with some makeshift, thrifty music setup. I have this vivid memory of him looking at me and saying, through his charming Italian accent and broken English, that she was the future of new music. 

I carried that memory with me as I walked into the Greek Theatre on the night of September 29th. Tash Sultana had the amphitheater overflowing with fans all just as excited as one another. From the moment the doors opened, people poured in, crowding as far forward as possible. Everyone was hungry for what was to come, and surely no one left disappointed. 

The Teskey Brothers opened to get the crowd ready for Tash. With folky, blue grass feels, they kept every hippie happy. They were nothing short of passionate in their performance. Even if much of the crowd had come for Tash, they were in no rush for her to come on. The lead singer, John Teskey, lost himself so deeply in the music that he just walked away from the mic and sang into the open air. Guitarist and brother, Sam Teskey, hilariously walked a mic over to him to alleviate the somewhat awkward moment. In their final song, passion struck the lead singer once more as he led the crowd in a sing-a-long and stage dove into everyone, mic-less, to sing atop some generous dude’s shoulders. Their energy was absolutely perfect to rile up the crowd for what was next.

Tash Sultana came on stunting a skater-boy look that no other skater could rock quite like her. For those more unfamiliar with her work, Tash is a solo artist, who handles nearly every aspect of production. She plays every instrument on her tracks, sings every vocal part, and mixes everything. Her solo work has gained so much popularity worldwide that she has now been able to venture out on global tours, giving her quite a few more helping hands in her production. But when she performs, her raw style still remains. She may be just one little gal, but she knows how to take up enough space to own the whole damn stage. 

There was never a moment where she stood still. If she wasn’t on her knees shredding her guitar, she was running from one side of the stage to the other blasting a trumpet. She had the energy of some child jacked up on pixy-stixs, yet still kept this cool, calm, and collected ease of a self-made woman. 

Tash took a moment to slow everything down to give a message from her heart. She pointed out that just within the amphitheater, we had people of every race, gender, age, sexual orientation, and religion. It was sights like this, she noted, that made her feel like we’re all moving in the right direction. 

Everyone came with high expectations for an artist that has created so much in such little time, and Tash did nothing but deliver. She took our expectations and gifted us with something far more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. From her energy, to her musicality, to her kind words, Tash gave a performance unparalleled by anything I have ever seen. 

Article by Natalie Gott