Very few artists in the music industry are doing it like Lawrence. The sibling-led eight-piece has been captivating increasingly larger audiences with their soul-pop anthems for over ten years, and their fourth and latest album, ‘Family Business,’ is no exception. Donning ties and blazers, the Brooklyn-based group brought their chaotic energy, funky dance moves, and show-stopping vocals to the Fillmore in Silver Spring, Maryland on September 20 in a night of heartwarming camaraderie.
After an energetic set from opener Jukebox the Ghost, the screens on both sides of the stage start playing a pre-recorded, mandatory HR-inspired skit featuring frontmen and siblings Clyde and Gracie Lawrence, decked out in 1970s business attire, welcoming the audience to the family business. The video cuts to a live feed of the siblings as they and the rest of the band run onstage to thunderous applause.
Lawrence kicks off the show with ‘Family Business,’ the titular track of their new album. There’s no simpler or more appropriate word to describe opening performance than ‘fun.’ The funky trumpets and nostalgic 1980s sitcom vibes set the tone of the show perfectly; the audience sings with Clyde and Gracie, “Welcome to the family business; You’re already in this, so go make yourself at home.”
After the band plays two more songs off their latest album, ‘Do,’ and ‘I’m Confident That I’m Insecure,’ they pivot to some of their older music. Clyde offers up three of their older songs and has the audience to pick which song they want to hear. The winner is ‘False Alarms,’ a song off their third album featuring Jon Bellion. Despite the band joking that they might not remember how it goes, they lead the audience in an energetic rendition of the upbeat track, with trumpeter Marc Langer rapping Bellion’s verse to enthusiastic audience cheers.
Placed thoughtfully between the energetic trumpets and saxophones, funky bass and guitar, and Clyde’s delicately intricate piano performances is a beautifully intimate acoustic set. The band sits at the center of the stage as they perform three slower-paced songs: ‘Promotion,’ a folky tune with Clyde, Gracie, and tenor saxophonist Jordan Cohen singing in three-part harmony; ‘The Weather,’ featuring Gracie’s impressive solo vocals and a jazzy solo from alto saxophonist Sumner Becker; and ‘Something in the Water,’ which starts soft and transitions to a show-stopping, Broadway-esque last chorus.
The setlist is comprised mostly of songs off ‘Family Business,’ but a few songs from their previous three albums get their chance to shine, including ‘More,’ ‘Casualty,’ and ‘The Heartburn Song.’ I would be remiss if I failed to mention the band’s jaw-droppingly creative cover of Sean Paul’s ‘Get Busy,’ which lends itself incredibly well to Lawrence’s soul-pop sound.
Gracie shines onstage, bouncing and twirling around, making silly faces, and dancing freely, all while flexing her impressively nimble and powerful vocals. Clyde, on the other hand, has a deeply soulful and old-sounding voice; his solo vocal performances, while fewer than his sister’s, are touchingly expressive, eliciting a feeling of nostalgia. The rest of the band, especially the sax and trumpet players, frolic amongst themselves, busting out silly dance moves to make each other laugh.
One of my personal highlights is during the bridge of ‘Don’t Lose Sight,’ arguably Lawrence’s best-known song. Clyde leads the audience in a choir, a phenomenon I’ve only seen Jacob Collier pull off. (He happens to be a friend and occasional collaborator of Lawrence’s.) He deftly directs the oldest siblings in the crowd to sing the main melody, the youngest siblings to sing the lower harmony, and the middle siblings and only children to sing the high harmony: ‘And this shit ain’t ever gonna change; It ain’t ever gonna change; It ain’t ever gonna change,” as the band plays in the background and brings the chorus back one last time. (For the record, he says we sound great.)
After a brief break for the encore, Lawrence ends the show with a rousing performance of ‘Whatcha Want,’ the first song off ‘Family Business’ and the perfect one to close with. Right before the last chorus, the entire band stops as an old telephone starts ringing. Gracie, feigning confusion, runs to the right side of the stage and picks up the phone.
‘I’m sorry, the family business will have to call you back. We have one last chorus to do at the Fillmore!’ she screams as the band reconvenes for an explosive final chorus, complete with the audience screaming their lungs out. Amidst deafening cheers, Clyde, Gracie, and the rest of the band thank the audience profusely, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd before they all disappear backstage.
Lawrence’s energy is infectious and unmatched; they’re deeply unserious, entirely fun-loving, and immensely talented. This night felt less like a concert and more like a family reunion with all the fun cousins. The ‘family business’ Clyde and Gracie have created is so much more than music; it’s their world, a world they invite the audience into every night. Lawrence’s uniquely nostalgic and soulfully funky sound, staggering musical prowess, and chaotically wholesome energy sets them apart in a music industry that has been lacking a good dose of soulful fun for a long time, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.
Words By Allyson Park
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