Chalumeau

Name: Chalumeau

Birthplace: Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Source of Wealth: Music duo, recording artists, composers, university professors

Chalumeau is the genre-bending pop-rock project of Katherine Bergeron and Butch Rovan, two Brown University professors who turned their shared passion for songwriting into a full-fledged creative force. Known for their fearless blend of styles, the duo has carved out a sound that moves fluidly between Afro-Latin grooves, smoky jazz-noir, bossa nova, hard rock, electronic textures, and indie balladry. Every song is shaped by emotion first, with genre choices serving the story they want to tell.

Over the course of nine months starting in October 2024, Chalumeau released a string of eight singles — “No Common Ground,” “Candombe,” “Lies,” “La Vérité,” “Hide,” “Never Give Up,” “My Hands Are Tied,” and “Blue.” Together, these tracks set the stage for their debut album BLUE, released August 7, 2025.

Eighteen months in the making, BLUE is a self-produced, self-performed, and self-mastered labor of love. The project began taking shape when the couple returned to Rhode Island after a ten-year absence. As they noted, “There was something about being back in this beautiful ocean state, with so many fabulous musicians, that inspired us to start creating again.” Long walks in nature, personal writing retreats, and time for reflection and revision brought forth an explosion of musical and lyrical ideas that were later honed through months of studio work. The result is a deeply original anthology that takes listeners on an emotional journey from the first song to the last.

The night of the release, Chalumeau performed BLUE live in concert at Rhode Island’s legendary rock club, The MET, with an 8-piece band of stellar local musicians, along with special guests. The live show translated the precision of the studio recording into a vibrant communal experience, marking the official arrival of a duo whose work is as unclassifiable as it is profoundly human.