On Friday 28 June, Kevin Sullivan launched his new album Threeways at the Kiama Leagues Club.

Threeways is Sullivan’s second album and comes after a two year tour of Australia and an audition on The Voice Generations with his young children.

Sullivan’s wife Belinda, who acts not only as his road manager but also his sound engineer and muse, says that they felt indebted to the Kiama community for all the support they have given to them over the years.

“The local community here have been phenomenal for the last six years. I think there’s nothing like thanking your own town by launching in your own town,” says Belinda.

“We’re bringing a lot of people into the town this weekend, people are coming from Victoria, South Australia and Queensland. So that’s the premise of why we chose to do it here.”

Kevin, Belinda and their youngest children; KJ, Cha-Cha and Jet, spent two years during the COVID pandemic touring Australia together. Living in their van they call the ‘Sulli-van’ they traveled 170,000 kilometres and performed more than 250 shows.

“It was just me and we had another musician who ended up having to leave and go home to Brisbane. So our young children stepped up. And that’s where Kevin Sullivan and the Sulli-Vans was born. So this album Threeways is a continuation of that musical journey.”

The album is named after the Threeways Roadhouse in the Northern Territory which made a huge impression on Sullivan and his family. So much so, that on the first of July the family will fly to the Northern Territory to do a ten-day residency at the roadhouse.

“The Threeways Roadhouse is like something off Route 66; it's right on the highway. There’s the road trains and travelers and locals and there's a caravan park out the back of it. It’s in the middle of nowhere in the red dirt. And they were so hospitable and friendly and welcoming to us,” says Kevin.

The album cover is a picture of the intersection which joins the Stuart and Barkly Highways and is a peaceful and beautiful image of the red, lifeless Australian landscape.

“It’s (the Threeways Roadhouse) like an oasis in the desert and for us that’s what it was,” says Belinda. “We were just in the middle of nowhere, we had nothing and as Kevin said we came to a crossroads which is the artwork, and it depends at that point on which direction you go. 

“And because Kev writes about people and places, they’re usually real stories and events. Threeways really epitomises that because it brings people from everywhere into one place. It’s like a melting pot.”

The album features a range of different genres and subjects as well as different musical influences. There are songs about people Kevin’s met, his past experiences and what he is doing now. The album is also very personal at times.

“My mum passed away a few years ago and I’ve written a song about Mum called Dianne, that was her name, about the loss of a loved one,” says Kevin. “And I’ve also written a song about my Dad called The Piano player… My Dad is 94 and he was a Dixieland jazz pianist.”

It is also about Kevin’s experience being a mature aged member of the music industry. And the songs Against the Tide and Journey both detail his dedication to his dream in spite of the fact that he managed to get there a little later than most of his peers.

“I am a mature aged musician who has chased his dream later in life and it hasn’t been easy and a lot of people have told me it's a young person’s game now and I just don’t accept that,” says Kevin.

“I think this second album is so much better than my first album. I used to dream of chasing my creative dream of becoming a full-time musician but mortgage and kids and life sort of got in the way, but I never gave up on it,” says Kevin.

Due to Kevin’s long, luscious red hair there’s a joke amongst his old police friends where they tell him they’re all losing hair while he is gaining his and this is a fitting image for how Kevin has blossomed as a result of risking it all for his dream.

“It’s like I’ve been reborn,” says Kevin. “And I think I’m just immersing myself and have now accepted that I am a fulltime singer/songwriter and I just want to write more and release more songs. My passion is just growing.”

Kevin’s new album Threeways is out now, and if you couldn’t catch him at the Kiama Leagues Club he is playing at the Threeways Roadhouse in the Northern Territory from 3 July to 14 July. To follow his journey, this is his website: https://kevinsullivanmusic.com/.