Lawrence at the House of Blues
Like most people at the beginning of the 2020 quarantine, I downloaded TikTok. Has it slightly ruined my life by taking up giant chunks of time? Yes, but it has also allowed for a lot of great music to be introduced into my life. One band in particular that TikTok exposed me to is Lawrence.
Lawrence is an eight person group, with brother and sister Clyde and Gracie Lawerence at the helm; their current discography consists of three studio albums and two live ones. I was instantly drawn to them after hearing Gracie’s voice in that initial TikTok video that I stumbled upon - it was of a live performance where the energy of her voice carefully climbed over each note. Their sound is the epitome of pop music: sugary and sweet.
I was able to catch them at their recent stop in Chicago at the House of Blues. I really didn’t know much about the band going into the performance, so I allowed myself to absorb information in real-time and go in blind. I assumed that the crowd would be similar in age to myself/a bit younger since I found them on TikTok, but this was not the case - I might have been the youngest one there. I have been to many shows with such an age gap, but this one felt different. This particular crowd was full of millennials that felt like they got married to their high school sweethearts, and I felt very distant from this kind of person
Either way, this stop was sold-out, so I was extra excited going into the show! The opener Emma Jayne was the perfect opener for Lawrence with a stripped down performance of just a keyboard and vocals - she had great crowd control and a soulful voice. Soon after, Lawrence came out for their hour and a half long set.
The crowd was instantly *so* dialed in. Everyone there (especially the people directly all around me) were major fans. They instantly came out swinging and the entire crowd erupted, the floor warping underneath my feet. Lawrence’s sound covered many genres but situated itself within R&B, pop, and soul. It’s music that you can’t help but groove with, which was one of the reasons I wanted to see them live so badly - I love to dance, even if I’m not that good at it.
All dressed in red, the group musically gelled so well together. Gracie sang vocals and occasionally added some tambourine, while Clyde joined her vocals and played the keys. The rest of the band included two saxophones, a trumpet, a bass, a guitar and drums. The band was full and cohesive to the point that I couldn’t help but smile. Each member also did their own solos and were able to show off their own skills through the show.
The whole band looked like they were having the time of their lives, you could feel the compassion they had for one another. I felt like I was almost watching a Disney Channel original movie where a rag-tag group of people all found out they all love music and started jamming together…it was pretty much Lemonade Mouth.
They had a lot of audience participation and every band member had a strong connection and grasp over the crowd, and this wasn’t something easy to accomplish either. Gracie especially has a really intense stage presence - I bet she was a theatre kid. Her moves and energy reminded me how I used to perform concerts for my stuffed animals when I was 7 and wanted to be a pop star. She looked like she was having the best time.
I was kind of surprised, especially after hearing them perform live, that they haven’t yet had a big radio single; they have multiple songs that I could imagine following me around a Kohl’s or Target. This band would have killed it in the early 2000s with the popularity of blue-eyed soul on the radio (think Gavin Degraw, Justin Timberlake, Duffy, Amy Winehouse). But who knows, most things find a way to come back.
They did some fascinating covers, all of which I’ve never heard a band do before so I definitely give them props for originality. This included a cover of the Hey, Arnold theme song to go along with the theme of their most recent album called Hotel TV, which was pretty great with how musically lush they were. Their cover of the “Cha-Cha Slide” was...interesting but bordered on being out of place - I much preferred their cover of “Get Busy” by Sean Paul because of their brass accompaniment.
Lawrence’s performance was a spectacle and they are definitely a band to watch. They closed with “Don’t Lose Sight” which is the song that I originally found them through, so it was a nice full circle moment. They’ve got a long career ahead of them and are just getting started; I can’t wait to see what they do next. They just released some more tour dates for next year, so if they’re coming to a city near you and you’re looking to dance, get your tickets now!