Australian Multi-Instrumentalist Tash Sultana Takes Over Toyota Music Factory in Irving: Photos

In this strange new reality where international performers are hesitant to tour America due to some xenophobic policies, it was a night of pure bliss to see Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist Tash Sultana play a no-holds-barred show at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory Tuesday night.

The gender-fluid performer rose to international fame when their song "Jungle" went viral on YouTube in 2016. That song surpassed a million views in just five days and today stands at over 170 million. This captivating yet intimate living room performance highlighted their range and insane looping skills. Sultana plays over 10 instruments, and that was well represented last evening. This show comes in the middle of their Return to the Roots Tour, which shares the name of their latest release.

Sultana has amassed an impressive list of honors in their native Australia in a short amount of time. They have received multiple nominations for the ARIA Awards, which are comparable to the Grammys. Sultana has been nominated 13 times and took home a win for Best Blues & Roots Album in 2018 for Flow State. Their breakout single "Pretty Lady" also won the Rolling Stone Australia award for Best Single in 2021.

Sultana was also recognized for their live performance skills from the Live Music Awards with a 2016 win for Best Live Roots Act of the Year and, in 2017, a win for Live Guitarist of the Year as well as International Live Achievement as a solo performer.
The show opened with fellow Aussie band Lime Cordiale, who had a wild but entertainingly fun energy. Sydney-born brothers Oliver and Louis Leimbach led a lively set that included a fake fight, a kazoo solo and a tongue-in-cheek cover of Divinyl's "I Touch Myself."
Sultana's band was already on stage when the lights came up for their set, and Tash strolled in playing an acoustic 12-string Greek-style guitar to an absolute roar of the crowd. Sultana was surrounded by instruments on their main pedestal, including chimes, synths, pedals and even a mounted trumpet they played in the third song. Lyrics and trippy visuals enhanced the set, and their band elevated their looping and vocals. Tash frequently switched guitars, and when they weren't singing, they were teasing the crowd with high-energy solos or going to the side pedestals with more pedals to further charge their sound. Sultana played a solid split of songs from all their releases, including opening with a heavy dose of songs from their most recent release. They did "Unleash the Rage," "Kiss the Sky" and "Hazard to Myself." Though the venue wasn't packed, Sultana and their band delivered an electrifying set that more than lived up to the hype, giving die-hard fans a chance to escape the outside world and lose themselves in a night they won't ever forget.