Meet Jesse Sunga | Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jesse Sunga and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jesse, what inspires you?
Inspiration tends to hit me the hardest when I am listening to music. I enjoy all types of music, thus inspiration is deep and wide. I’ve always believed that if a song sounds good and makes you feel something, it’s a good song, regardless of genre. Musically if I hear a melody that moves me, I’ll try to figure out where it wants to go and expand from there. However, there are times where a melody says what it needs to say and does not need to expand! Lyrically I pull inspiration from events that I’ve experienced in real life. In the last year or so I’ve been writing songs. Despite how vulnerable it makes me feel it has been rather therapeutic.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I play guitar in open E tuning 95% of the time and use a glass slide when appropriate. The tuning has very subtle changes in note/chord sounds when compared to standard tuning. And use of a slide is a skill many keep in their back pocket but I am obsessed with its sound. It is certainly difficult at first with a steep learning curve. But I’ve kept it on my finger and essentially had to relearn how to play guitar. As with anything in life, persistence is key!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Nashville has become a hotspot for things to do. It is practically impossible to be bored in this city. A few of my favorite venues are to catch local bands are Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge, Papa Turney’s BBQ, and Bowery Vault. As for spots to hang/eat/drink in East Nashville are Red Door Saloon, Lakeside Lounge, and Mickey’s.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
From a simple like or follow on social media to giving me stage time there has been a multitude of people who have supported me in my music career. I have been lucky enough to meet many great people in the creative world from playing guitar. As of late I’ll have to shout out Jasco Duende, Tullie Brae, and Jayme Fallon for having me to play at their shows. Additional shoutouts go to Heather Nigro, Brittany Nicholson, & Phil Silverberg for their excellent photography. Futhermore a book that really encouraged me to go out and play music was “Please Be with Me: A Song for My Father, Duane Allman” by Galadrielle Allman. I read it in one shot. I loved how hungry Duane was to play music with everybody and it very much motivated me to do the same.

Website: www.jessesunga.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessejsunga/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessesungamusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jesses830

Image Credits
Brittany Nicholson Jayme Fallon Julia Valdes