Today we’d like to introduce you to Sun Burnette.
Hi Sun Burnette, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Both coming from immigrant families, we met in college through the Filipino club and instantly bonded over our shared love for music. Marj had been playing piano and writing songs since she was eight and was actively involved in band/the performing arts in high school. Anette, a violinist since age eleven, didn’t discover her singing voice until much later, however she became well versed in orchestral music and arrangement, eventually becoming a leader for several instrumental ensembles. Interestingly, Anette became the choir director of the club and dragged Marj along for the ride. That’s when we started collaborating musically: arranging covers, composing for choir, and writing songs with silly topics just for fun.
After graduating in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we both found ourselves in full-time jobs but feeling unfulfilled. The isolation sparked a growing need to express ourselves creatively again. Marj struggled to establish a routine after work and felt disconnected from music, especially without the sense of community college had provided. Around the same time, Anette experienced a family emergency that brought everything into sharper focus. It reminded her how short life is and reignited her desire to start a music project, something she had long dreamed of but never fully seen herself in until then.
Once lockdown restrictions began to ease, we sought out the creative community again by joining the Musicians Club of San Diego. There, we began performing and collaborating with other local musicians, and it was through that experience that we discovered our shared ability to create unique soundscapes and blend nostalgic genres in a way that felt distinctly ours. In 2022, we officially formed our band, originally a four-piece. We have gone through some lineup changes within the band since then, with our first being Connor, whom we also met through Musicians Club, joining us as our new drummer. Connor first started playing the drums through the video game Rock Band in 2008, where he would later learn the real drums soon after that. Through all of this, we have since continued to make our mark in the San Diego local scene, building connections with other queer artists and artists of color and contributing to a growing, inclusive creative community.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Balancing full-time jobs with the demands of building a band from the ground up has been one of our biggest challenges. After long workdays, we often felt drained, but somehow still had just enough creative energy left to pour into the band. In our early years, everything was completely DIY, from recording, to booking, and content-creation/marketing. We took on every show we could get, sometimes even booking multiple gigs in a single weekend. Alongside performing, we were also learning how the music industry works. In developing holistically as artists, we’ve explored visual mediums to shape how our audience experiences our art as a whole.
As queer, introverted women of color, carving out space and credibility in the scene wasn’t easy. We were often overlooked or underestimated, but we stayed grounded in authenticity and relatability. Slowly but surely, we built a humble following and began to realize that if the spaces we needed didn’t exist, we could create them- for ourselves and for others like us.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Sun Burnette has become a creative home for us. A space where we can fully explore and express our artistry. Through our work, we often find ourselves unpacking personal and collective stories that many can relate to. Each one of us infuses our unique musical background and life experiences into forming the band’s unique sound. Marj brings lush piano textures and synth-based soundscapes that transport listeners, while crafting emotion-driven melodies. Anette uses her voice to shape the narrative and emotional tone of each track, delivering lyrics that are both grounded and expansive. Connor creates a solid foundation for the songs to be built and then elevate each song with creative, musical drum parts and rhythms.
Our songwriting often explores themes like the queer experience, mental health, social and political critique, love, and loss. To us, art, politics, and self-expression are inseparable, so why wouldn’t we write about the world around us? Sonically, we live somewhere in the realm of indie pop and indie rock, pulling inspiration from the nostalgia of the ’90s and 2000s, as well as elements of R&B, synth pop, and dream pop. We’re inspired by artists like Japanese Breakfast and IV of Spades, along with classic bands like Fleetwood Mac, Fanny, and Mazzy Star, each of whom has shaped how we think about sound, storytelling, and identity.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
For Anette, Marj, and Connor coming from humble origins and no prior experiences or connections to the music industry, we believe that our achievements have come from deep commitment and hard work. Each of us had years of honing in our craft individually but if we were to attribute one thing to luck – it would be the incident of meeting one another, as without that Sun Burnette wouldn’t exist.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunburnetteband/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sunburnetteband
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Bl8YzG0aQaLTLafBSrV38?si=R2QeESbmSCKPQAXg3_nCcg
