Don’t let Connecticut songwriter Laura Clapp’s cozy suburban mom persona fool you.
The Guilford, Connecticut-born musician is a master of turning everyday moments and personal catharsis into sonic gold, a skillset that’s taken her from New England talent shows to Nashville concert halls.
She’s also full of surprises – an eclectic vocal powerhouse who creates catchy, radio-ready songs untethered to any genre, but always sounding best blaring from a car stereo on a girls’ night out.
Her penchant for songwriting is a gift first harnessed in grade school, at the encouragement of her jazz-singer mom and chorus teachers, who encouraged her to put lyrics to piano. That passion took her from high school talent shows to DePaul University in Chicago to study opera, and then Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she leaned into pop, rock, and live performance. After transplanting to Nashville in her early 20s, Laura cut her teeth as a demo vocalist while working the scene, putting out two albums and, eventually, leaving Music City for her next chapter.
On her latest record, Chameleon, Laura embarks on a path of self-discovery, mining not only her reservoir of personal experiences, but also the experiences of others. Her poignant storytelling is the backdrop for gritty country tunes like “Oak Tree” and gripping, synth-pop anthems like “Rise Up.” She also showcases her love of big, belt-out choruses buoyed by searing electric guitars in “DCMA.”
Inspired by everyone from Sara Bareilles to Led Zeppelin, Laura, who now resides in her hometown “village” of Guilford with is still savoring the process of artistic exploration. The best, she believes, is yet to come.
“When people have asked me, ‘what’s your style?’ it’s always been hard to say,’” says Laura, reflecting on her journey to this moment. “That’s why the album is called ‘Chameleon.’ It’s a little bit of everything.”