tri·bo·lu·mi·nes·cence
"The emission of light from a substance caused by rubbing, scratching, or similar frictional contact."
"It's a great word; right?," said guitar luminary Andy Summers as he explained the title of his most recent release. "It caught your attention; didn't it? "Triboluminescence" is a scientific word for making light out of dark. I felt that it would be a good title for the record, I'm fascinated by it."
Summers, like many other musicians, began his musical journey behind a piano and as a young teen picked up the guitar; performing professionally since the mid 1960's. "I've been a musician since I was six really, music is my life," he stated with conviction as he recounted the early days of his craft. "Music consumes my very being. Everything I do, I draw and have drawn from my own head. I know what I like and don't like. I enjoy pushing the edge both myself and listening to that sort of music which does the same. I was always into jazz and not much of a rocker really until only a bit before the Police. I've always been a composer and as a composer I love to find and create fresh non-generic music."
"Create," just may be an understatement, as "Triboluminescence" is Summer's fourteenth release. This one is available digitally with an expected limited edition release on vinyl (Cargo Records) in the near future. "I just purchased a new "Techniques" player and I'm anxious to hear this work on vinyl," he said with enthusiasm. Currently, the album is available for download on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon as there are no plans to hit the road in order to support it as in days gone by. "There will not be a tour involved with this record, it's all done online at the moment. They're still making CDs but I feel that the industry is in a sad state. My heart goes out to young musicians, there are so many blatantly talented young musicians out there who will never be heard. You can be a talented 20 year old but you won't sell a million records with the way it's designed. I have sympathy for today's musicians, it's not as romantic now as it once was."
Summers seems indifferent to much of his past. He has toured and/or recorded with Joan Armatrading, David Essex, Neil Sedaka, Kevin Coyne and a multitude of others. He has won Grammy Awards and scored countless hits as a member of The Police and although a resident of the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame, seems unfazed by it all. "It's all nice but I don't dwell on it," he said with a twinge of ho-hum in his voice. "I take it in stride."
When asked about his past and more specifically, The police and whether or not it has been a help or hindrance in his solo efforts, he seemed to once again show indifference; choosing instead to discuss the future. "No, neither really. There is the curse of the early works but I have a pull calling me forward, I love making music. I don't dwell on the past and The Police seem like a distant memory now really. We were a worldwide phenomenon and at times that can be very tough to get by but I look ahead and try not to look back much."
So be it through solo, collaborative or the pursuit of scientific methods, Andy Summers is moving forward and making music on his terms. Adapting well to the new way of doing things within the industry and staying true to his ways, he still remains a viable force to reckon with; one quite capable of creating, "Triboluminescence."
To discover more about Andy Summers, please go to www.andysummers.com .
That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
