Tommy Lefroy

Tommy Lefroy

Tommy Lefroy is a Nashville-based indie rock and soft rock group made up of Wynter Bethel and Tessa Mouzourakis. Formed in 2018, the duo begins with the two meeting in Nashville and repeatedly crossing paths at house parties before starting to make music together. Their name comes from Thomas Langlois Lefroy, the real-life man believed to have broken Jane Austen’s heart, and the group uses that reference to recast the “heartbreaker” role in literature with a female lead.

Formation and identity

Bethel and Mouzourakis are both songwriters, producers and multi-instrumentalists. Their project develops out of a sense of friendship, rebellion and existential reflection, with the pair describing the act as rooted in honesty and in response to expectations placed on women in music. They also work as producers and draw on a do-it-yourself creative approach.

Releases and style

The group releases its first single, “Northern Towns”, in 2021, followed by the debut EP Flight Risk. Their music centres on lyrics about love, break-ups, youth, humour and modern malaise, and it is shaped by literary and poetic influences as well as references to female storytellers and artists including Anne Carson, Joni Mitchell, Patti Smith, Phoebe Bridgers, Sharon Van Etten, Samia and Haim. Their recordings also use sounds from everyday life, including samples taken from the London Underground and from friends talking and laughing around a kitchen table.

Live activity and audience

After moving to London, Tommy Lefroy builds an audience through live shows and develops a following among young female listeners. The group appears at The Great Escape, plays a sold-out London headline show at the Lexington, and attracts attention from outlets including NME and Apple. It also reports more than one million monthly listeners on Spotify.

Activity

The group is active from 2018 to the present and continues to perform at UK festivals, including Barn On The Farm, Kendal Calling and Secret Garden Party.