Charlton teen Liam Coleman officially signs, embarks on country singing career

BARRE — If you close your eyes as Liam Coleman sings, you might find yourself transported to a country concert with a seasoned artist singing songs about love, breakups, friends, pickup trucks and drinking.

When you open your eyes, it’s hard to believe the lyrics and voice are coming from a 17-year-old who’s still almost three years away from his first legal drink and, if all goes as planned, he'll be touring and have a record deal before the first sip of that initial beer.

Coleman, a Shepherd Hill Regional High School senior from Charlton, signed with Marathon Talent Agency in a formal ceremony Saturday afternoon at Stone Cow Brewery.

The brewery located at 500 West St. B is near and dear to the young artist, because it’s the first place he was paid to play when he was 15-years old and figuring out that music could be his career.

Coleman's first year of performing brought him 63 gigs, some new-found popularity and an audience that could sometimes sing along to the songs he’d written, occasionally while daydreaming in class.

By the start of 2020, he was playing out every weekend until the pandemic hit. He spent more time writing as the virus forced people to stay home.

Peter Strickland of Shrewsbury said folks began contacting him at his Marathon Talent Agency, and telling him he ought to sign Coleman. Strickland offered to give Coleman some advice when they met in Nashville, Tennessee.

“Him being from Charlton, which is where my wife and I built our first house … my goal was to help him make sure he was hooked up with the right people,” Strickland said.

Strickland said he watched and noticed that Coleman got better and better, something a manager wants to see. He liked Coleman’s voice and the fact that the teen seemed wise beyond his years.

While his singing is one thing, his songwriting is another. Coleman penned an entire song based on the stories his dad, Auburn Fire Chief Stephen Coleman, shared with him about growing up in Charlton.

He croons about making a 10-cent phone call, cows getting loose and the chicken barbecues that populated the summer calendar of most folks living in small towns back then.

“Well, we all believe that we want more but gone are the farms and the local drug store. It’s not my dad’s town anymore,” he sings.

Fodder for his much of his writing comes from his own experiences and he thinks at least two of his friends might hear a lyric and realize they might have had an indirect role in creating it, he said.

Now, Coleman also works with writing partners who’ve been FaceTiming since the pandemic. They’re far-flung, from places like Minnesota and Texas, but they can see one another and they talk for an hour or more during their writing sessions. Coleman said they’ve turned out some songs he’s looking forward to recording.

While he’s signed with Strickland, Coleman said the priority now is getting through his senior year and figuring out how to safely have fun with his friends.

“It looks like everything’s been taken away from us,” he said of prom and other senior year activities. “So I just want to have some time with my friends before I go.”

After that, he’ll spend more time in Nashville, in the studio and he wants to start touring, maybe some country fairs at first and eventually opening for artists like Luke Combs, Hunter Hayes, Morgan Wallen or Hardy.

Coleman said his family, mom dad and his sister, have always been his biggest supporters and he's not afraid to work hard to realize the dream they all share for him.

Strickland is looking forward to guiding Coleman successfully into the future of country music. He’s worked with some of the country’s top artists and said he was recently, “In a place where I could bring somebody else on.”

He decided that artist would be Coleman noting that even his name sounded country.

“He’s ready,” Strickland said through a mask adorned with his new protege’s name. “He’s going to be the next big country star.”