On a magical night at Nectar’s in Burlington, Vermont in December of 2018, 3 musical masters—Russ Lawton, Scott Metzger & Ray Paczkowski—came together with alchemical synthesis, and created a fresh, so-tight-it’s-free sound, permeated with technical prowess and a deep-pocket punch. The packed house fortunate enough to be in attendance that night witnessed the birth of something very special. The following spring, the trio took the name LaMP by combining the first letters of each members’ surname, and reconvened back in Vermont at Sugarhouse Soundworks for an intense recording session with sound engineer Roger Stauss laying down tracks that would become their eponymous debut EP. Metzger, described by The Village Voice as “…an ace guitarist of a thousand styles,” and a full-time member of the beloved Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, tested the decades-strong synergy between Lawton & Paczkowski forged from their time playing with Trey Anastasio Band and their duo project Soule Monde. It resulted in seven tracks crackling with energy & soul. The melodic & harmonic interplay between Paczkowski’s swirling organ & clavinet dancing with Metzger’s acrobatic melodies on telecaster, driven by Lawton’s unflappable backbeat, produced a record that will stand the test of time. Ever since, as the 3 members busy schedules have allowed, LaMP has prioritized bringing the music to the people with shows across the East Coast. As word has spread and the crowds have grown with each subsequent tour, it’s become clear that LaMP will be a musical force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future. Last year, LaMP returned with their 2nd studio collection, One Of Us, on Royal Potato Family and the trio distills singular, road-honed improv instincts into taut, instrumental epics. One Of Us, which consists of 10 tracks packed into 35-minutes of kaleidoscopic interplay & club-shifting grooves, is the band’s 1st studio outing since their self-titled debut, released during 2020, and follow’s last year’s double-dose Live At Nectar’s, which was sourced from 2 nights at the storied Burlington, VT institution where the band was born in 2018. While each of the players has extensive experience with other gigs, as well as collaborations with artists like Nels Cline, John Medeski & Anders Osborne, LaMP has hewed its own path. Following their Nectar’s set, the band was hungry to return to the studio to coax to life a fresh batch of tracks. To do so, they decamped to Ben Collette’s Tank Recording Studio in Burlington for a three-day session. At the beginning of 2026, a bandcamp release of a live recording of the album recorded at Tank, in Burlington, VT on 7.18.24 was dropped.
I had the chance to catch up with Russ Lawton ahead of the upcoming LaMP show in Madison at the High Noon Saloon on March 15th. We get into just how those at the event are going to be prepared to get their special kinda groove on. This power groove trio has been selling out shows and building a strong following due to this live experience. We line up how they find the time to combine the talents into this experience and the thrill of this scene and the happiness of the community getting out to share in the vibe. We talk about the latest release, One Of Us, and how it took shape from the building onto a Russ beat and how each member adds their them. Russ builds a setlist around one of these latest tracks and laments about the happiness of sharing a positive experience.
