Andover native Lauren Mahoney has taken the Northshore’s music scene by storm with her recent win at the highly competitive Seabrook Idol Contest this past January 2023. Joey Pafumi, the drummer for Walter Trout and Seabrook Idol judge, said of Mahoney, “You can sing R&B, you can sing gospel, rock n’ roll, contemporary, you can sing the whole bag.” Mahoney’s vocals have been described as “unexpectedly soulful” by Tower of Power member Tom E. Politzer. Also, Extreme bass player Pat Badger has remarked on the difficulty and fearlessness she brings to her performances at such a young age.

 

In addition, Mahoney’s lower register has been compared to singers such as Toni Braxton and Joni Mitchell. Following this accomplishment, Mahoney has been making the rounds on podcasts such as MusiciansandBeyond, and Afternoon Drive with Drew Moholland, where she performed and discussed her musical process and ambitions.

 

Throughout her studies, Mahoney has explored genres varying from classical to jazz. In addition, she had extensive training at the Boston Conservatory Summer of ‘21. Then Mahoney studied at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts. There, she performed in the same concert series as John Williams at Tanglewood on Parade in ‘22 with the BUTI YAVP Choir. In addition, Mahoney has worked in master classes with professor, Brian Zeger from the Juilliard School and Soprano Melynda Davis, who has performed with the Boston Pops and Opera Boston. Also, most recently, she won Classical Singer’s All-State Singer ‘23 for Massachusetts. Mahoney graduated from Phillips Academy Andover in June and will begin her studies at Boston University this fall. There, she plans to pursue her B.M. in Classical Vocal Performance. At Andover, Mahoney sang with her student-run rock band, RoughDraft. Furthermore, she co-headed and wrote arrangements for a cappella groups and was a co-head for the chamber choir on campus. Also, she won Phillip’s Senior Concerto Competition, where she performed with the Symphony Orchestra that spring.