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Del Suggs grew up on the water in Panama City, Florida. He's in the midst of a remarkable career, which has grown from playing teen dances to college concerts to international touring. As an artist, Del has released five CDs of original tunes. He's also produced another half dozen recordings for other performers.
Strongly influenced by a combination of rock music, folk music, and his love of the ocean, Del innovated a unique style he calls "Saltwater Music." Performing Songwriter magazine describes it as "Jimmy Buffett jamming with the Indigo Girls and James Taylor." That fits like a glove.
In 2001, he was inducted into The National Campus Entertainment Hall Of Fame by the nation's campuses and Campus Activities magazine. He was named "Best Solo Artist for 2002" by the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities.
His career as a musician began in high school, as his four-piece rock band spent weekends touring and performing across the Southeast. While attending college at Florida State University, Del began to play more acoustic music with a trio. "Cross Creek" recorded one album, and spent a summer touring through the Midwest.
After "Cross Creek" disbanded, Del began to focus on developing a solo act. Having seen such remarkable artists as John Hartford, Steve Martin, Dion, & Jimmy Buffett perform at his college coffeehouse, he decided the "College Circuit" was the right audience for his music. It was a perfect fit.
As Del began to tour, he was influenced strongly by the musical heroes he was meeting and performing with. Gamble Rogers convinced Del to develop his extravagant song introductions and stories, in order to "pull the audience" into his songs. "Gamble suggested that the audience would be more likely to listen and enjoy my original music if I had lured them in with a funny story," said Del. Later, Byrd meister Roger McGuinn also shared some thoughts with Del. "Roger said that performing solo was like an 'acid test' for your songs-- when you're with a band, a weak song can slip by, but when you're performing solo the songs better be great." Del learned those lessons well.
Dirty Linen, the acoustic/folk music magazine, wrote "his songwriting adeptness is a marvelous blend of depth and perception that never fails to inject serious subject matter with consistently entertaining music."
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