Meet Grace Sullivan of Ohio City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Grace Sullivan.

Hi Grace, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have been writing songs and singing for a long time, but I kept it very close to my heart. I had a lot of fear around performing live or sharing my music with a larger audience outside of my family and close friends. But in 2020, when it felt like the world was falling apart, something shifted and all of the sudden all I wanted to do was share my music. I started by putting an ISO band members post on Craigslist, and one thing let to another from there and I eventually was able to find my way very clumsily through recording an album and playing live shows. My friend and producer Austyn Benyak has been a huge blessing through this process. He plays in my live band along with Andy Schumann, and I’m so grateful for them both. The band has had a lot of phases in a relatively short amount of time. I still feel like I’m learning a lot about how to create the vision I have in my brain and bring it to reality successfully, if that’s even possible. I’m currently in the process of planting the seeds for my second album. I’m curious how that will take shape, I’m not entirely sure yet.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was my own fear and my own self doubt. It’s not like any of that has entirely gone away, but I know how to manage it a bit more gracefully. There are plenty of other obstacles as well. Unblocking myself creatively is a never-ending battle, managing a band is fun but really hard! And it isn’t a secret that the music industry is a bit of a mess right now, but I’m learning to make music for the love of the game and not be so focused on the outcome.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a singer/songwriter and my artist name is Wish Queen. I would describe my music as a mix between dream pop and indie folk. I love creating harmonies in my music and I usually spend a lot of time recording a delicate mix of vocal harmonies in my songs. While I’m very proud of the album I released in 2023, “Saturnalia”, I’m most proud of my most recent single release “Floral Sheets” I think it is structurally and lyrically the best song I’ve ever written. I’m also really proud of the live set my band and I have created. It is a slower and dreamier take on the album, complete with hypnotic visuals I created myself.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
Austyn Benyak, my producer and bandmate really has made so much possible for Wish Queen. He’s produced and co-written almost every song I’ve released, he created the live set, and he has taught me so much about all the intricacies around pursuing music. I was so clueless when I started (I still am in a lot of ways) and I feel so grateful that he believed in what I was trying to do.

My other bandmate Andy Schumann actually booked my first show before he was in the band. He used to work for Sofar Cleveland and I sent them my music and he responded really kindly and energetically about booking us. It gave me a lot of confidence in a time I needed it most! Bringing him on board has been so awesome. He is also such a talented writer and artist. I feel really lucky to be surrounded by such talented sweetie pies.

My friends and family have been so incredibly supportive from the beginning. There are so many to name! But my mom has been such an inspiration. She gave me my first copy of “The Artist’s Way” a few years ago, and reading that really changed my life and gave me the courage to finally call myself an artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wishqueenmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wishqueen_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewishqueen/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@wishqueen