Harry Lawson grew up in Park City and graduated from Park City High School with the class of 2020.
What started as an after-school hobby with friends has turned into a full-time career after the 19-year-old won a songwriting contest, performed at the famed South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, signed a record deal, and moved to Los Angeles in February.
Lawson, who goes by Peech in the music world, says his stage name actually comes from his roots in Park City.
“It’s actually a long-time nickname I had," he explained. "I grew up skiing out here in Park City, competitively, and people would call me “Harry Peaches,” that was my nickname, so when I started doing music, I was like, ‘I want to use that.’ I just shortened it down and made something cool.”
Lawson’s career took off in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a normal world, a record deal means show tours and public events, but COVID shutdowns meant he spent the last year in a recording studio instead. He says he wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“I think it was cool because I was still young, so it gave me time to kind of really settle in and understand what moves to make, whether it’s business-wise, I could really lock in and figure out my next moves to keep myself going in the right direction and not just jump in that young and just mess up things," he said. "I’m happy with the way it’s gone because I’ve been able to finagle my way around and learn a bunch.”
It’s hard to put a finger on Lawson's music. Heavily influenced by contemporary artists like Post Malone, Kid Cudi, and the late Mac Miller, Lawson also lists influences like the Red Hot Chili Peppers along with indie and punk rock.
His debut album “These Times Don’t Feel Right” was released in April. He says he wrote it as a reflection on the past two years.
“I feel like the world is just – we’re kind of in this weird spot right now and I wanted to capture that," he said. "It is a personal thing too, but it’s also for everybody. I feel like maybe these times are a little weird, but we’re all going through it. There’s songs in there that are upbeat, all types of stuff. I just wanted to capture this overall feeling that I feel like the world is going through and I feel like we did it pretty well with the album, so I’m excited for it.”
Peech is playing a show in Salt Lake City Saturday at 7pm as part of the Alleyways Amplified concert series at the Edison St. Alleyway. Tickets are available here.
