Summer Sound Series – The Suitcase Janket on July 28

Summer Sounds Free Friday Concerts in St Clair Park

The volunteers that produce SummerSounds welcome you to the 23rd season of 13 evenings of great music; sometimes familiar and comforting, sometimes new and exciting. This free concert series is a gift that has made a positive impact on our region and won a national reputation for excellence! Skilled musicians from across the world are here to entertain you in the relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere of beautiful St. Clair Park in Greensburg’s growing cultural district. Join us on July 28 for The Suitcase Janket!

The Suitcase Janket on July 28

Roots

Official Website /  Video1 /  Video2  /  Video3

Everything about The Suitcase Junket is different.  Matt Lorenz of Massachusetts isn’t the only one-man band on the road, but he does it without tape loops. Sitting on a ratty suitcase, Lorenz plays a beat up guitar that he pulled from a dumpster and a bass made from another discarded suitcase. Additional homemade instruments were crafted from augmented pots, forks, a gas can, bones and a baby shoe that he bangs with his feet. Practicing the ancient art of throat singing, Lorenz sounds like he’s using two voices at once.

At some 200 performances a year, audiences marvel at the strange sight, but Lorenz says he’s most interested in his songs. He wrote and performed all of the songs on his three albums, but broke down and brought in a collaborator, Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, to produce his 2018 project.

“The things I value are under attack and writing songs and making art are the methods I have for responding,” said Lorenz. “I have tried to use my observations and reflections of the world bent through my fun-house-mirror mind to show what I see – a planet stressed. We can do better.”