Artist Matt Lorenz to Bring The Suitcase Junket To Club Passim

The Suitcase Junket, Matt Lorenz's internationally touring, throat-singing, slide guitar playing one-man-band will play at Club Passim on September 28. Lorenz has been creating and playing music as The Suitcase Junket since 2009, building a powerful fan base in his native New England and far beyond. The folky, bluesy, psych-rock musician has a constant fluctuating number of instruments, many built from what most people would consider garbage. With his name nodding to Lorenz's longtime love of collecting old suitcases, The Suitcase Junket reveals all the warmth and wildness to be found in so-called “junk”.

Tickets are available at passim.org. 

“Suitcase Junket has always been a jaw-dropper of an artist,” says Matt Smith, Managing Director of Passim. “I remember Campfire Festivals and Lamplighter Sessions where he'd play and the audience (and other artists) would just be stunned by the kind of performance he gives. As a solo act he can captivate small rooms all the way up to festival stages.”

Matt Lorenz learned to sing by copying his sister Kate; the siblings are two-thirds of the touring trio Rusty Belle. He graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 2004, having taught himself throat-sing. On moving day, he pulled a guitar, filled with mold and worse for wear, from a dorm dumpster. He fixed it up and started pulling songs out of it. That was the beginning. 

The Suitcase Junket has combined streams of 1.25 million on Spotify and was named to Spotify's Best of 2016 Folk & Americana and Blues & Roots Rock playlists. Lorenz caught the attention of National Public Radio who chose his video session for "Earth Apple" from his 2015 album Make Time as one of the year's favorite sessions. 

His music puts him in the company of artists working the border of Americana and rock -- Shovels & Rope, M. Ward, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes, Sam Amidon, Alabama Shakes, and The Record Company.  Festival plays -- past and forthcoming -- include Mountain Jam, FloydFest, FreshGrass, Winnipeg Folk, and more.

Suitcase Junket plays at Club Passim on September 28 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 and available at passim.org. Club Passim is located at 47 Palmer St., Cambridge MA 02138.

About Passim 

The mission of Passim is to provide truly exceptional and interactive live musical experiences for both performers and audiences, to nurture artists at all stages of their career, and to build a vibrant, inclusive music community. Passim does so through their legendary listening venue, music school, artist grants and outreach programs. As a nonprofit since 1994, Passim carries on the heritage of our predecessors-the historic Club 47 (1958-1968) and for-profit Passim (1969-1994). We cultivate a diverse mix of musical traditions, where the emphasis is on the relationship between performers and audience and teachers and students. Located in Harvard Square, Passim serves Cambridge and the broader region by featuring local, national and International Artists. Our ultimate goal is to help the performance arts flourish and thereby enrich the lives of members of our community. For a complete schedule, visit www.passim.org.