Chalumeau features a rich intergenerational roster of seasoned professionals and newer talent, the band includes Rhode Isand Music Hall of Famers Rick Couto (drums), Marty Ballou (bass),  along with Bill Jette (guitar & lap steel), Butch Rovan (guitar, tenor sax, clarinet), Harry Qin & Carlo Ostuni (alto saxes), Laurie Schaeffer & NIna Sethanandha (background vocals & keys) and Katherine Bergeron, aka Chalumeau (lead vocals & keys). Chalumeau’s tight arrangements and  dynamic performances make their live shows  a must. Motif magazine has said: “if you get a chance to hear Chalumeau perform live, jump on it!”

In August 2025, Chalumeau released BLUE, a widely praised collection of original songs exploring the vicissitudes of love in all its shades of romance, heartbreak, rejection, revenge, grief, and reconciliation. Coast2Coast Sounds called it “one of the most thoughtful and emotionally resonant debut albums of the year.”

From the Afro-Latin rhythms of “Candombe” to the stark political urgency of “No Common Ground,” the collection draws on distinct traditions — ballads, big-band blues, bossa nova, hard-hitting rock, indie, pop, and rap — with style and genre choices informing the emotional meaning of each song.

The result is a project that takes you on an exended emotional journey. It begins with “Homecoming,” a ballad about the illusion of finding a home in love, setting the stage for a story that unfolds, like acts in a play, across the 10 tracks. The romance and heartbreak of “Homecoming” give way to the accusation of “Lies”, the rejection of “Candombe,” the infidelities of “Hide,” the special pleading of “No Common Ground,” the elegant revenge of “La Vérité,” and then the simple truth, the grief, of “Blue,” which is the album’s emotional center and turning point. After that, the tone shifts to the resignation of “My Hands Are Tied” and the reconciliation and resilience of “Never Give Up.” And then the final ballad, “You Can Count on Me,” offers a moment of grace and gratitude in a song about what real love looks like,  dedicated to all those people who remain by your side even when life walks away.

“This is a debut that plays like a retrospective, rich with detail and emotional weight and striking in its ambition.”

                        — Jordan Ruiz, Coast2Coast Sounds 

With their live shows Chalumeau again and again demonstrates their ability to command and move a live audience with their story and their sound. 

Read Cheikh Higgs’s review of the album release concert.