Singer-songwriter Sean Bottomms ’24 tapped on the strings of his guitar, named Martini, as we spoke about the beginning of his career as a musician. The influence of one artist in particular stood out: Shawn Mendes. “I listened to ‘Stitches’ for the first time and that changed the game,” he said. After a friend introduced him to the song in seventh grade, Bottomms knew he wanted to create and play his own music.
“I wanted to make something like that,” he said. “Sing it, play it, just do the full thing.”
Today, Bottomms truly is doing the full thing. This Saturday, he will perform at Spring Fling as the lead singer of Desert Gothic, one of three student bands selected to compete for the chance to play an encore before the headlining artist bbno$. The performance will mark his second time opening for the headlining Spring Fling artist after he did so for Sammy Rae & the Friends as a singer for the improv-driven, energetic student band 3 Days Ago. The next day, Bottomms will release his debut EP Silver to all streaming platforms.
Bottomms picked up his first instrument, a violin, in first grade. Over the years, Bottomms also picked up the flute, saxophone, and guitar. “I was dirty on the flute in fourth grade,” Bottomms said. “My mom played flute, and so she would teach me. It was kind of badass.”
Inspired in part by Mendes’ album, Handwritten, Bottomms started writing his own songs in middle school. “I listened to Handwritten every day for literal years,” he said. “I was talking to my mom and said ‘It’s so amazing how he can write a full album,’ and she was like ‘You can do that.’”
Throughout his early musical career, Bottomms has also drawn inspiration from artists Bon Jovi, Stevie Wonder, Dido, and Jack Johnson, whose album In Between Dreams had a particularly strong influence on him. “[Jack Johnson] is probably the artist I’ve listened to the longest,” Bottomms said. “There’s a real softness and beauty to his music.”
In high school, each summer Bottomms attended a three-week singing program called Village Harmony. He would perform in the group’s choir at shows across New England, which he said was his first time singing in front of a crowd. At a camp talent show the summer after his sophomore year, Bottomms performed one of his original songs for the first time.
“Mi Amor,” an upbeat and light-hearted song with staccato guitar strumming and a mix of Spanish and English lyrics, received applause and shouts of support from his peers, according to Bottomms. “This [was] the moment that sort of got me,” he said. “I’ve had a certain number of shows that have been received really well that have supported a certain level of confidence on stage.”
Since then, Bottomms has gained more experience performing his original songs in front of audiences. With the Roche and Gomez Research Fellowship from the College, Bottomms spent last summer in New York City performing at open mics and working on on his soon-to-be-released EP.
Bottomms recorded the songs on his own with equipment that was gifted from his brother over several Christmases, and mixed the songs himself in Logic, he said. Bottomms worked with producer Al Hemberger, who has also worked with Rihanna and Kelly Clarkson, to master and release the EP.
On Silver, Bottomms sings about key memories from romantic relationships and touches on themes of growing up and exploring new, sometimes scary, places in the world. These songs take the same approach to songwriting as his early work, Bottomms said, but highlight his richer vocal tone and more nuanced lyrics.
“Putting on sunscreen to go outside / Dance in the water bring me to life / We used to be fragile, but not no more,” Bottomms sings in “Mermaid” with a slow, deep voice. “Please let me drown,” Bottomms repeats towards the end of the song, his voice echoing without any backing track.
“‘Mermaid’ is a very specific memory,” Bottomms said. “It puts me right back there in a way that it might not do for other people because it is my memory, but I hope it has that feeling for everyone.”
Each song uses only vocals and guitar recordings, which Bottomms said gave him little to hide behind. “If you’re making a song that’s just guitar and vocals, it’s gotta stand,” he said. “These songs felt like they could do that.”
While performing, Bottomms carries himself with an undeniably calm demeanor on stage, whether he’s dancing along to the music from his Desert Gothic bandmates, Liam Giszter ’25, Kai LaMothe ’27, Diego Mongue ’25, and Rein Vaska ’25, or sitting by himself with a guitar in front of a mic. “The audience is there and you’re super aware of that, but I can close my eyes and just play,” he said.
Though Bottomms loves “doing the whole thing” — writing, singing, and performing his own songs — as an English major, he especially hopes to continue crafting lyrics.
“I love performing, but I love sitting down with a guitar just looking for words — writing things down with a notebook and guitar is the perfect way to do it for me,” he said. “It feels so good to bring ideas to life.”
