From Sunday Sessions to Solid Sound

Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival, coming June 26-28, is indie-cool at its finest – a three-day celebration of music, art, and creativity held on the grounds of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in the heart of the Berkshires, an event that has become one of the country’s most beloved alternative music gatherings since its debut in 2010. Its unique spirit was even captured in the 2015 documentary Every Other Summer, which helped cement Solid Sound’s place in alt-rock lore.

This year’s lineup features festival founders Wilco alongside influential acts like Billy Bragg, The Breeders, and Gang of Four. But Solid Sound has always been about more than established names. Emerging artists remain a vital part of the experience, contributing to an eclectic mix that appeals to music fans eager to discover their next favorite band. Among this year’s newcomers are Sam and Louise Sullivan, a Philadelphia-based brother-and-sister duo who we spoke with recently.

“I think there's been a clerical error, and we've been invited,” laughs Sam, who says he just wanted tickets to attend the festival as a fan. “We're pretty excited, adds Louise, “It just feels like it kind of came out of nowhere, but somewhere fun.”

A Family Band

Sam and Louise Sullivan grew up surrounded by music and have been performing together since childhood, but it was during the pandemic that they began pursuing songwriting and recording in earnest. “We're brother and sister, so we've been playing music as a kind of family band for a long time,” says Louise. “We grew up playing traditional Irish music and would attend an Irish session every Sunday night with our parents. During the pandemic, we decided to make a record of original songs together, passing the microphone between our houses and sending recordings back and forth. Along the way, we met some amazing musicians in Philadelphia who have collaborated with us on more recent recordings.”

Take a listen to their recent album Sweet Enough at the link below. Their sound is distinctive yet immediately welcoming – contemporary, yet rooted in timeless musical traditions. Blending folk influences, rich vocal harmonies, and indie-pop sensibilities, the duo creates songs that are warm, melodic, and emotionally resonant, the kind of music that feels both fresh and somehow familiar from the very first listen.

https://historicnj.bandcamp.com/album/sweet-enough-3

"When people say independent, I don't want to just be indie music,” says Sam. “Like, we're trying to go pop. I always say, ‘I want this to sound like Pink, I want this to sound like Madonna.’ We want it to be listened to by everyone. And then it comes out sounding, of course, like a kind of folk-rock song,” he adds, half joking.

The irony isn't lost on the duo. As independent artists, they enjoy the freedom to create on their own terms, without the pressures of record labels or industry expectations. That flexibility is essential because both Sam and Louise work full-time as educators, leaving limited time for songwriting and recording. "We kind of have to go one song at a time, really slowly; I'm like barely a musician, so we kind of write them one at a time, and then we have to record them during the school year,” explains Sam. “But the nice thing about just making music with our friends is that we have no plan, we just kind of finish it and put it out.”

That laid-back approach makes their invitation to Solid Sound all the more surprising. “That's why we're so amazed that we're playing this big festival because our strategy in terms of promotion has always been to kind of put it in a bottle and then sort of just throw it out there, go outside my house and shout to all my neighbors that I have an album out.”

Lifelong Wilco Fans

"Sam and I have always been big Wilco fans, so much so that when we were road tripping as kids, we went to see different Wilco landmarks around the United States,” explains Louise. “I remember having a CD that was like one of the first I bought, I think it was Summerteeth.” Their devotion to the band led to a memorable misadventure on a trip to see Wilco at the Newport Folk Festival. “Our car broke down on the side of the road,” Louise recalls with a laugh. “We abandoned it and went anyway. We finally got there and as the ferry docked, in front of us, there was (Wilco’s) Jeff Tweedy -- it was awesome.”

There are additional local connections -- before he became an educator, Sam spent several years living in Providence, where he worked in the youth program at AS220. “I used to throw my bike on the front of the RIPTA and all that stuff,” he recalls. “It was a prolonged New England moment, but it was really fun.”

Until now, the largest audience the duo has performed for numbered only about 250 people. Solid Sound will be by far the biggest stage of their career – whether it proves to be a career-defining peak or the beginning of something larger remains to be seen. “We've definitely had moments where we had to step up and deliver,” says Sam. “But nothing on this scale. We're excited to really go for it. We're bringing everyone we know – our whole family is coming, our grandma will be there. It's going to be amazing.”

If you’re headed to Solid Sound, look for Sam and Louise Sullivan playing Sunday, June 28, at 12:45 on the Courtyard C stage. Learn more at SolidSoundFestival.com.