COVEY

As Tom Freeman walked from one side of the room to another, greeting friends and making introduction, his anxiety was visible. This was his first show after all. The band had come together just a month before.

“We started out auditioning, but ended up being friends and friends of friends,” Freeman said. “We were auditioning drummers for a really long time. We were out for a drink one night and I so frustrated and said I was looking for a drummer and Sean, a friend of Mackenzie’s says: I’m a drummer.”

Sean was the last piece of the puzzle. With Mackenzie on bass and Lauren on back up vocals, he had his band.

When he opened his mouth to sing on Thursday night at the Red Room in Boston, the nerves melted away. The band was polished. You would never believe they’d only been playing together for a month. He was no longer Tom Freeman. The moment the first note left his mouth he became Covey Clough. As Covey and Lauren sang, their voices melted into one harmonious tune.

He made the stage his home, taking off his shoes, laughing with the crowd. His quiet charm won the members of the crowd who weren’t friends, but there to see the headlining act Trails and Ways. Seated guests stood and moved closer, giving their full attention to an artist they now wanted to know.

You’re attracted to Covey Clough because of the man behind him. Tom is bold. He moved to Boston from Hong Kong in 2010 to attend Berklee College of Music, the only school he applied to.

“I knew I wanted to do music so I applied to Berklee. My music teacher actually told me I wouldn’t get in. I put all my time into rehearsing for the audition. Auditioned and then got in, luckily. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gone to college.”

Originally posting music under his given name, he changed his stage name to Covey Clough because he wants to headline Coachella…and Lollapalooza.

“I was looking at a Coachella line up and a Lollapalooza line up and I kept trying to imagine Tom Freeman on a line up, somewhere in there, but I just couldn’t see it.”

He took the name from the first place he lived, Covey Clough Court in the UK.

His early influence was James Morrison, the jazz musician.

“My mum loves James Morrison. My parents always played a lot of music in the house and I always thought it would be a cool idea to be able to play.”

Now acts like Mumford and Sons, Ben Howard and Matt Corby inspire him. The first single on his forthcoming EP, Comes and Goes is as beautiful and haunting as Damien Rice‘s The Blower’s Daughter.

He’s a “naturally taught” singer/songwriter. When he writes, he tries not to write about love. He doesn’t want to be known for writing love songs. He wants to make music that guys will want to pick up on their own. He may go by Covey on stage, but his songs are him.

“[I write about] stuff that happens everyday…when people frustrate me. I can right about dark stuff as well. Every now and then I’ll right about love. I try not to make it cheesy. It can be really emotional, but something a guy can respect.”

And as much as may not want to write love songs, he wears his love on his sleeve. Actually, it’s on both his forearms, his wrist and his shoulder. His tattoos each represent a special person in his life, all of whom are halfway across the world in Hong Kong and are all his biggest fans.

The key on his right arm is for his father and represents closing a door to the past and having a key to open new ones. The dream catcher is for his mum. She used to hang them in his room to help ward off his night terrors.

As a child, Tom’s family traveled from the London to Indonesia and finally to Hong Kong because of his father’s job in the clothing industry. Moving around taught him the value of friendship. The four strokes on his wrist are for his four best friends back home, who not matter where is goes or what happens, Tom says he’ll love forever.

“Friends are the most important thing to me. Writing about them are the most important part of my life. They taught me what really matters and when writing in music you have to write about what really matters.”

And finally, the initials on his shoulder for his sister. He keeps her on his shoulder like a parrot of his shoulder. Keeping her close to his ear.

Now, with his first show under his belt, Tom and his alter ego Covey are looking to the future. First they will conquer Boston. Then the US. Then the world. - Title To Be Determined

As Tom Freeman walked from one side of the room to another, greeting friends and making introduction, his anxiety was visible. This was his first show after all. The band had come together just a month before.

“We started out auditioning, but ended up being friends and friends of friends,” Freeman said. “We were auditioning drummers for a really long time. We were out for a drink one night and I so frustrated and said I was looking for a drummer and Sean, a friend of Mackenzie’s says: I’m a drummer.”

Sean was the last piece of the puzzle. With Mackenzie on bass and Lauren on back up vocals, he had his band.

When he opened his mouth to sing on Thursday night at the Red Room in Boston, the nerves melted away. The band was polished. You would never believe they’d only been playing together for a month. He was no longer Tom Freeman. The moment the first note left his mouth he became Covey Clough. As Covey and Lauren sang, their voices melted into one harmonious tune.

He made the stage his home, taking off his shoes, laughing with the crowd. His quiet charm won the members of the crowd who weren’t friends, but there to see the headlining act Trails and Ways. Seated guests stood and moved closer, giving their full attention to an artist they now wanted to know.

You’re attracted to Covey Clough because of the man behind him. Tom is bold. He moved to Boston from Hong Kong in 2010 to attend Berklee College of Music, the only school he applied to.

“I knew I wanted to do music so I applied to Berklee. My music teacher actually told me I wouldn’t get in. I put all my time into rehearsing for the audition. Auditioned and then got in, luckily. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gone to college.”

Originally posting music under his given name, he changed his stage name to Covey Clough because he wants to headline Coachella…and Lollapalooza.

“I was looking at a Coachella line up and a Lollapalooza line up and I kept trying to imagine Tom Freeman on a line up, somewhere in there, but I just couldn’t see it.”

He took the name from the first place he lived, Covey Clough Court in the UK.

His early influence was James Morrison, the jazz musician.

“My mum loves James Morrison. My parents always played a lot of music in the house and I always thought it would be a cool idea to be able to play.”

Now acts like Mumford and Sons, Ben Howard and Matt Corby inspire him. The first single on his forthcoming EP, Comes and Goes is as beautiful and haunting as Damien Rice‘s The Blower’s Daughter.

He’s a “naturally taught” singer/songwriter. When he writes, he tries not to write about love. He doesn’t want to be known for writing love songs. He wants to make music that guys will want to pick up on their own. He may go by Covey on stage, but his songs are him.

“[I write about] stuff that happens everyday…when people frustrate me. I can right about dark stuff as well. Every now and then I’ll right about love. I try not to make it cheesy. It can be really emotional, but something a guy can respect.”

And as much as may not want to write love songs, he wears his love on his sleeve. Actually, it’s on both his forearms, his wrist and his shoulder. His tattoos each represent a special person in his life, all of whom are halfway across the world in Hong Kong and are all his biggest fans.

The key on his right arm is for his father and represents closing a door to the past and having a key to open new ones. The dream catcher is for his mum. She used to hang them in his room to help ward off his night terrors.

As a child, Tom’s family traveled from the London to Indonesia and finally to Hong Kong because of his father’s job in the clothing industry. Moving around taught him the value of friendship. The four strokes on his wrist are for his four best friends back home, who not matter where is goes or what happens, Tom says he’ll love forever.

“Friends are the most important thing to me. Writing about them are the most important part of my life. They taught me what really matters and when writing in music you have to write about what really matters.”

And finally, the initials on his shoulder for his sister. He keeps her on his shoulder like a parrot of his shoulder. Keeping her close to his ear.

Now, with his first show under his belt, Tom and his alter ego Covey are looking to the future. First they will conquer Boston. Then the US. Then the world. - Title To Be Determined

A few weeks ago, Boston was lucky enough to receive a visit from Trails and Ways, an alternative pop group from California. The band is currently on tour promoting their newly released album Trilingual, and their show at The Red Room marked their first-ever performance in Boston. The ensemble consisted of two guitarists (Hannah Van Loon and Keith Brower Brown), a bassist (Emma Oppen), and a drummer (Ian Quirk), and all four band members double as vocalists. Singing in both English and Spanish, Trails and Ways kept audience members grooving with dreamy synths, catchy vocals, and a great light show to tie it all together. A tune that I particularly enjoyed was “Border Crosser,” a song about open deserts and dusty roads, with some particularly haunting whistling reminiscent of lone rangers of the Wild West.

Also notable that night was opener Covey Clough, a small indie group led by British heartthrob Tom Freeman. The charming singer, whose sound could be described as a combination of James Blake and Mumford & Sons, performed a short set that included an oh-so-familiar cover of The Lumineers’ “Hey Ho,” and even shed his shoes halfway through the performance. Covey’s first EP is still in the works, but you can listen to his first single, “Comes and Goes,” on YouTube.
Trilingual is now available on iTunes and Spotify, and highly recommended for listening while driving somewhere sunny with the windows down. - The Berklee Groove

A few weeks ago, Boston was lucky enough to receive a visit from Trails and Ways, an alternative pop group from California. The band is currently on tour promoting their newly released album Trilingual, and their show at The Red Room marked their first-ever performance in Boston. The ensemble consisted of two guitarists (Hannah Van Loon and Keith Brower Brown), a bassist (Emma Oppen), and a drummer (Ian Quirk), and all four band members double as vocalists. Singing in both English and Spanish, Trails and Ways kept audience members grooving with dreamy synths, catchy vocals, and a great light show to tie it all together. A tune that I particularly enjoyed was “Border Crosser,” a song about open deserts and dusty roads, with some particularly haunting whistling reminiscent of lone rangers of the Wild West.

Also notable that night was opener Covey Clough, a small indie group led by British heartthrob Tom Freeman. The charming singer, whose sound could be described as a combination of James Blake and Mumford & Sons, performed a short set that included an oh-so-familiar cover of The Lumineers’ “Hey Ho,” and even shed his shoes halfway through the performance. Covey’s first EP is still in the works, but you can listen to his first single, “Comes and Goes,” on YouTube.
Trilingual is now available on iTunes and Spotify, and highly recommended for listening while driving somewhere sunny with the windows down. - The Berklee Groove