Backstage & Beyond with Jim Sullivan & Hosted by David Bieber

A T-shirt that I occasionally see people wearing reads, “I May Be Old, but I Got to See All the Cool Bands.”

While I am not going to speak for him on the former part, I can confidently vouch for the fact that rock critic Jim Sullivan, who spent 26 years in the full-time employ of The Boston Globe, has witnessed live performances by approximately 99% of the cool bands.

But he has done more than watch them on stage from the vantage point of a concert attendee.

In the case of the 60 artists who are featured in the two recently published volumes of Backstage & Beyond, Sullivan has hung out with them before and/or after shows, been their dining companion, transported them from one show to another, and received personalized mail from them. (Blake Maddox / ArtsFuse)