The Suitcase Junket, a one-man band with found objects, releasing debut (listen)
The Suitcase Junket is the fitting name of Western Massachusetts musician Matt Lorenz. It’s the kind of thing where you imagine this guy must literally carry around a suitcase where he pulls out enough instruments for a four-piece band, Mary Poppins style. Maybe a little more impressive is the fact that he’s largely procured these instruments out of found and repurposed objects and has figured out how to play them all as a four-piece band by himself, further powered by his overtone throat singing.
It might all seem a bit kitschy if it weren’t for the fact that he actually makes music that sounds honest, original, and energetic in its blending of garage rock and Americana.
It was a few of his older tracks that first hooked me in — notably the raucous and twangy heartbreak ballad “Eileen.”
Now The Suitcase Junket is making his debut on Signature Sounds with the full-length album, Pile Driver, out this Friday (4/21). The atmosphere of this album maintains a thread of focus, but delivers twelve tracks that each demonstrate his unique capacity to mix a sense of a folk foundation with lo-fi guitar sounds and a found-object feel. We’re premiering a stream of the whole album below.
The Suitcase Junket has a lot of shows coming up, including festival stops like Croton, NY’s Clearwater Festival. He’ll also be playing a headlining show at NYC’s Mercury Lounge on June 1 with Caroline Rose (tickets).
He’s also got several shows with Tift Merritt, and he plays Winnipeg Folk Fest, FloydFest, FreshGrass Festival, and more. All dates are listed below.
The Suitcase Junket — 2017 Tour Dates
Apr 20 Basin & Main Honesdale, PA
Apr 21 The Shea Theater Turner Falls, MA
Apr 27 Abilene Bar & Lounge Rochester, NY
Apr 28 The Linda Albany, NY
Apr 29 The Narrows (w/ Julie Rhodes) Fall River, MA
May 03 The Shitty Barn Spring Green, WI
May 05 The Hi-Fi (w/ Matthew Logan Vasquez) Indianapolis, IN
May 08 The Musical Instrument Museum (w/ Tift Merritt) Phoenix, AZ
May 10 Bootleg Front Room (w/ Tift Merritt) Los Angeles, CA
May 11 Swedish American Hall (w/ Tift Merritt) San Francisco, CA
May 12 Vintage Wine Bar Redding, CA
May 13 Mississippi Studios (w/ Tift Merritt) Portland, OR
May 14 The Triple Door (w/ Tift Merritt) Seattle, WA
May 16 The Soiled Dove (w/ Tift Merritt) Denver, CO
May 18 The Turf Club St Paul, MN
May 19 Private House Concert Des Moines, IA
May 21 Elk Creek Millheim, PA
May 24 The Purple Fiddle Thomas, WV
May 25 The McNemar House Buckhannon, WV
May 26 Jewel City Jamboree Huntington, WV
May 28 Virginia Arts Festival FRINGE Norfolk, VA
May 31 The Sinclair (w/ Caroline Rose) Cambridge, MA
Jun 01 Mercury Lounge (w/ Caroline Rose) New York, NY
Jun 03 Club Helsinki (w/ Caroline Rose) Hudson, NY
Jun 10 Roots on the River Festival Bellows Falls, VT
Jun 14 Cafe Nine New Haven, CT
Jun 16 Stone Mountain Arts Center Brownfield, ME
Jun 17 Clearwater Festival Croton On Hudson, NY
Jul 02 Great Blue Heron Music Festival Sherman, NY
Jul 07 Winnipeg Folk Festival Winnipeg, Canada
Jul 08 Winnipeg Folk Festival Winnipeg, Canada
Jul 09 Winnipeg Folk Festival Winnipeg, Canada
Jul 11 Ludington Grill Escanaba, MI
Jul 14 Red Wing Roots Music Festival Mount Solon, VA
Jul 27 Floydfest Floyd, VA
Jul 28 Floydfest Floyd, VA
Sep 16 FreshGrass Festival North Adams, MA
Sep 17 FreshGrass Festival North Adams, MA
