Lawrence (band)

Clyde and Gracie Lawrence, siblings aged three and a half years apart, have created music and performed together since childhood.[2] Their father, Marc Lawrence, is a filmmaker, screenwriter, and director, best known for movies such as Miss Congeniality and Music and Lyrics.[3] Their younger brother, Linus has also featured in songs such as "Come On, Brother" on their album Breakfast. He has also appeared in Lawrence music videos.[4]

While studying at Brown University, Clyde started a band originally called The Clyde Lawrence Band for which he sang lead vocals and played keyboard. The band featured a rotating crew of Brown students as members. Gracie, still in high school, also travelled to perform with the band.[10][11] The Clyde Lawrence Band played events on campus as well as at colleges and venues across the Northeast.[2][6]

The Clyde Lawrence Band performed on Clyde's 2013 album, Homesick. When Gracie became co-lead singer after many years playing together, the band's name was changed to Lawrence.[3]

Seven of the eight members of Lawrence attended Brown.[7]

Lawrence released its first full-length album Breakfast in 2016, which reached No. 6 on the iTunes R&B charts on its first day of release.[4] Produced by Grammy winner Eric Krasno, Breakfast includes musical appearances from members of Snarky Puppy and Lettuce.

Their sophomore album, Living Room, was released in September 2018. Living Room reached No. 2 on the iTunes R&B/Soul chart, earned a featured placement on Spotify's "New Music Friday" playlist, and led the band to its late-night television debut on NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly.[1] The album, which combines elements of Lawrence's old and new influences while featuring themes of childhood and family issues,[1] was co-produced by bandmates Jordan Cohen (tenor/baritone saxophone) and Jonny Koh (guitar), Brooklyn-based producer Eli Crews, and Clyde and Gracie themselves.[5]

In July 2021, Lawrence released their album Hotel TV and became the first band to release music under Beautiful Mind Records, the label of Grammy-winning producer/songwriter/artist Jon Bellion, who co-produced and co-wrote the songs on the album along with Clyde, Gracie and their bandmates Jordan Cohen and Jonny Koh. The album's lead single, "Don't Lose Sight," was featured in an international Microsoft commercial, which propelled it into the Top 20 on the USA Shazam Pop Charts. The single also hit No. 33 on Top 40 radio and was played on over 100 multi-format stations across the country. The band performed "Don't Lose Sight" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, did a performance of it for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and closed both of their sets at Coachella with it.

Clyde Lawrence, Jordan Cohen, and Jonny Koh formed production trio The Diner,[12] also signed to Jon Bellion. They have worked on projects with Jonas Brothers, Tori Kelly, Jon Batiste and more. The Diner also co-writes & produces all of Lawrence’s music.

Touring has been a key component of the group's rise to success: The release of Hotel TV was supported by the Hotel TV Tour, a 53-city tour across major cities in North America, including sold out shows at Terminal 5 in New York City, House of Blues in Chicago, and two nights at the Royale in Boston, among others. Following that, the band completed a co-headline tour with MisterWives. The group has toured with acts such as Lake Street Dive, Vulfpeck, Jon Bellion, Jacob Collier, Soulive, O.A.R., and Bernhoft, and has appeared at major festivals including Coachella, Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, Firefly, Okeechobee, Hangout, and Summerfest.

In November of 2022, Lawrence threw their own 3-night festival at Brooklyn Steel entitled Staycation.[16][17] Each night had its own theme (including wedding night, Y2K night, and New York night), and featured two opening acts followed by a two-hour set from Lawrence. Each night also had its own unique set design, setlist, and costumes that corresponded with the theme. In total, the three-nights featured seven different artists and three nearly non-repeating Lawrence sets. Lawrence performed over 70 different songs across the three sold out nights.

In 2023, the band joins the Jonas Brothers on their 2023 North America tour and will continue to play festivals like Daze Between New Orleans and The Peach Music Festival,[18] as well as support acts like Jacob Collier, AJR, and Michael Franti & Spearhead. In July 2023, the band announced it would be opening for the Jonas Brothers for their 2023-2024 tour.[19]

Lawrence released a docuseries documenting their 2021 tour, with the first episode being released on their YouTube channel on August 3, 2023.[20]

In December 2022, Clyde Lawrence (lead vocals, keyboards) wrote an article published by the New York Times regarding the unfair dynamics that artists face in the live music industry as a result of the merging of Ticketmaster and Live Nation.[21]

In January 2023, Clyde Lawrence and Jordan Cohen (saxophone, tour manager) were invited to testify at a U.S. Senate Judiciary hearing in Washington, D.C., on the topic of live event ticketing.[22] They sat alongside other industry professionals, as well as antitrust experts, to deliver a testimony about their experiences as a touring band playing in Live Nation-owned venues across the U.S. Lawrence and Cohen continue to spread the word about the challenges in the live event promotion and ticketing space in conversations with outlets like NBC News, Vice News, Politico, and more.

• Gracie Lawrence – lead vocals, tambourine
• Clyde Lawrence – lead vocals, keyboards
• Sam Askin – drums
• Sumner Becker – alto saxophone
• Jordan Cohen – tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, background vocals
• Michael Karsh – bass, background vocals
• Jonny Koh – guitar, background vocals
• Marc Langer – trumpet, rapping

• Official website