There’s something undeniably captivating about cardboard. Remove the gloss, the expectations, and the distractions, and what remains is pure instinct—storytelling in its rawest form, driven by melody and emotion. Welcome to Cardboard Sessions, where simplicity takes center stage and the most unassuming setting brings out music at its most authentic, intimate, and deeply human.
Some artists don’t need much to create something unforgettable. Give them a guitar, a quiet room, and an idea worth exploring, and the music takes care of the rest. Joe Sumner is one of those artists.
Raised in the orbit of extraordinary songwriting—yes, he’s the son of Sting—Sumner has never leaned on his famous surname. Instead, he’s spent years forging a musical identity defined by honesty, curiosity, and a distinctive voice that is unmistakably his own.
For this installment of Cardboard Sessions, Ernest Packaging handed Sumner a cardboard guitar and one simple challenge: have fun.
What unfolded was a perfect example of what makes the series so compelling.
By the end of the session, Sumner had written an entirely new song inspired by what he describes as “current events”—a thoughtful reflection on life in a Cardboard World. Along the way, he experiments with every cardboard instrument in the room, layering each part into the composition with nothing but instinct, creativity, and a playful willingness to embrace the unexpected. The result is an intimate performance that proves great music isn’t defined by the instruments you play, but by the stories you choose to tell.
Enjoy Joe’s Carboard Session below!
