“I have heard this and I can tell you it is GREAT! Luti has taken his music and refined it till it purrs. Jovano!”

TOM SAUNDERS, A3RADIO

“Eastern European meets Middle Eastern folk” Now this my friends… is Brilliant. Sojourn to Serenity….”

MICHELLE JALABA

News & Updates

On the Threshold of Spring

On the Threshold of Spring

Can you believe it is almost spring? Time flew by so quickly since my previous post in September of last year ... before I knew it, six months have gone ... poof! A number of exciting things took place in the musical sphere of my life meanwhile, with several lovely...

Last Night I dreamt…

Last Night I dreamt…

In less than two weeks I will be performing again at one my favorite venues, Tea Room at the Crazy Wisdom bookstore, downtown Ann Arbor. This time, I am going to devote most of the evening to songs from my former home country, Yugoslavia, which is no more … To give...

Many Thanks!

Many Thanks!

Thank you all for coming to the CD release show. It was a spectacular experience for me, which I will cherish forever. The musical chemistry on the stage, the attentive and participatory audience, the sound quality – thank you, Dennis Kingsbury! – the standing...

UPCOMING SHOWS

No shows booked at the moment.

ABOUT LUTI

Raised in the multiethnic milieu of Yugoslavia, Luti grew up immersed in Balkan folk music, classical music and melodic rock. When he arrived in the U.S. on a Fulbright scholarship to study molecular biology 30 years ago, his home country was bound for a brutal civil war, and Luti’s passion for truth telling, songwriting and performance grew.

“A deft touch with social justice themes, Luti is a writer of love songs to humanity.”

Luti performs solo and with fellow artists in the Greater Detroit area. With his solo albums Half a Century Later (2010) and the recently released Whistleblower, Luti brings us the vibrant rhythms and surprising chord progressions of southeastern European folk. His engaging voice, accompanied by melodic guitars and rich percussion, returns us to nature, awakens our social consciousness, and affirms the possibility of universal love. His song How Many Years won the 1st prize in the Huron Valley Martin Luther King Jr. Art Contest in 2015. His songs Be the Proud and Place Called Home have been included in Neil Young’s “500 Anti-War Songs” website. Luti is a full-time biology professor at Oakland Community College in Waterford, Michigan, where he lives with his wife, Leslie and two cats.

Across The Ocean

(©2007, Luti Erbežnik)

Our mother-tongues were not that different
From a single tribe most of us descended
We were taught to guard our brotherhood and unity
Visit a stranger’s home and you were befriended

Rivers and mountaintops, seaside, lakes and valleys,
This land between two worlds seemed like a heaven to me
But when the ethnic pride grew stronger than togetherness
Harmony began to fade and soon it was crumbling

Fear led to anger, and anger led to violence
Distinctions were dug out and coated with weapons and rage
The ignorant obeyed their leaders and went against their neighbor
Once again human folly took over the stage

And my life
In the land across the ocean
Flows with new freedom
Like a river of emotions
Home away from home
In the land across the ocean
Immersed in the melting pot
Finding true devotion

And when I think about my friends from the place I left
Sometimes I wonder where is it that I truly belong
Do they teach their children that you can’t be happy when you hate
Do they smile like in my dreams? Are they still as strong?

And my life…

FEATURED VIDEO & MUSIC SAMPLER

How Many Years

Performed during the “Whistleblower” CD release concert at the Trinity House Theatre, Livonia, MI, Jan 13, 2017. The band: Luti (guitar, lead vocals), Dan Hazlett (trumpet), Tracy Kash (flute, vocals), Bobby Pennock (vocals), Annie Capps (vocals), Sharon Tse (percussion), Rod Capps (bass), John Finan (guitar) and Scott Williams (drums).

The song won the first place in the Huron Valley Martin Luther King art contest in 2014.

“Listening to this album reminds one how really great songs and music can penetrate your heart more deeply with every listen. A deft touch with social justice themes, he’s a writer of love songs to humanity.”

– Annie Capps

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