Alesssandro Powell Photo
Lawrence at Lilly's Pad in 2015.
New Haven music icon Rohn Lawrence passed away on Dec. 30. The cause is not yet known.
A fixture of the Elm City’s music scene, with a career that spanned decades and took him across the country and back again, Lawrence captivated audiences with an astonishingly versatile style that encompassed jazz, rock, R&B, pop, and metal, ranging from fiery and driving, to joyously swinging, to lyrically peaceful, always in the service of the music that surrounded him.
Lawrence grew up in West Haven in the 1960s, before the area was urbanized. He graduated from West Haven High in 1979.
In a 2016 interview with the Daily Nutmeg, he recalled his a childhood involving woods, horses and dairy farms. “People from New Haven used to call us ‘country,’” he said then. He credited his parents with starting his development in music; though they weren’t musicians themselves, they listened to music of all kinds. So, then, did Lawrence, who said he got his first guitar — a plastic model decorated with Mickey Mouse — at the age of two. “A B‑flat-minor-seventh chord is the same in jazz, classical or blues,” he said.
He worked his way up through the music industry with tenaciousness and a lot of hustle, living in Boston and the Virgin Islands and going on tour after tour. His ability and range as a musician always saved him. “If I had to play a polka to keep the lights on for another two weeks, damn right I’m gonna play a polka!” he told the Daily Nutmeg in 2016. Over the years, his reputation grew, and in time, musicians and producers started calling him.
By the time he settled back in New Haven over 25 years ago, he was well established. He held down a weekly gig at Lilly’s Pad at Toad’s Place while appearing on dozens of albums and doing steady commercial work and performances across the country that sometimes had him playing nearly every day of the week. In addition to constant work as a sideman, Lawrence released three albums under his own name, 1994’s Hangin’ on a String, 1998’s See Ya Around, and 2008’s Live at the Red Door. He also made time to play for the community, whether on the Branford Green, at a fundraiser for the Stetson Branch Library, on the stage at the International Festival of Arts and Ideas, at a Sunday brunch at NOLO, or on seemingly every stage in New Haven at one point or another. In June, he played at Toad’s once again to celebrate its reopening. As venues resumed business around the state, Lawrence could be found at many of them, playing to the delight of fellow musicians and audiences alike.
In addition to being a virtuoso, Lawrence nurtured other musicians, a further testament to his lasting legacy. As news spread across the music community of Lawrence’s passing, many who played with him wrote on social media to express their sense of deep loss and profound gratitude.
“It’s the shooting stars that blaze the brightest trails across the sky,” wrote Lenny Underwood. “We know not where they started or even where they’re going but, we watch intensely; AND listen! What we heard from Rohn Lawrence on any given stage at any given time could not and will not be put into adequate words. We saw a virtuoso in action who knew how to have fun! The void that’s left by his absence is a deafening silence; yet the laughter that all the ensuing stories will provoke tells us that we DID witness a living shooting star who had fun with each of us along his journey.”
“We lost a king, a legend, a mentor, and a friend,” wrote Mark Lyon. “I’ve looked up to Rohn Lawrence ever since I was a beginner guitarist. I had the pleasure of befriending him about 10 years ago. Rohn was like the Godfather of all of the guitarists in the area. My heart goes out to his family, friends, bandmates, and his ever faithful fanbase. Rest easy, king.”
“As a musician, he was a pillar in the Connecticut community, the apex we all aspire to. As a person, he was as kind hearted as they come, with a smile and laugh that was absolutely infectious,” wrote Jeff Bowen. “RIP Rohn, I’m sure you’re already giving lessons in heaven.”
“You gave a lot of today’s top musicians their first big break,” wrote Asa Livingston to Lawrence. “My heart is heavy, sad and now I’m struggling to find the right words to describe the sense of loss that’s being felt right now in our musician community with you being gone. Rest In Peace.… Thank you for the memories.”
“To say Rohn Lawrence was/is a musical genius would be an understatement,” wrote Ricky Alan Draughn. “It takes a special musician to literally make me forget when to resume singing after a mesmerizing solo and Rohn was that dude. His skill was masterful & his signature sound will always reign above. I have learned a lot from Rohn & will always be grateful and cherish the moments we shared a stage. Through his most illustrious career, many around the globe will share a similar sentiment, as he has played with just about everyone…. I am grateful to have called him a friend and brother in music and I’m really gonna miss ‘em. Sleep in music my friend … a job well done.”