Psychedelic pop rock band Cherry Laurel has been gaining traction in the Norman music scene and recently released their third album, "Taxi Lullaby."
What began as a solo venture for guitarist and vocalist Cole Kornele, has grown into the psychedelic pop band Cherry Laurel. The band consists of bassist Tater Cowan, keyboardist Wes Bergersen, drummer Cole Bergersen, and guitarists and vocalists Easton Fowler and Ryan Hesselroth alongside Kornele.
“It definitely started off as just a solo project,” Kornele said. “But now it's really fun because we all have pretty different tastes in music, so we're able to make stuff now that I would have never thought of alone.”
Cherry Laurel first formed in high school, evolving from a group of friends into a tight-knit band. Their bond has strengthened since, making communication easier.
“We've become much closer,” Kornele said. “It's a lot easier to be honest with each other now.”
The band has always been involved with the local scene, taking the name Cherry Laurel from the Norman street of the same name. They frequently play at Opolis, and have CDs available for purchase at Guestroom Records. Fowler and Cole Bergersen are current students at the University of Oklahoma, while Wes Bergersen graduated in 2024.
Cherry Laurel at their release show for their album "Taxi Lullaby" at Opolis on Jan. 22.
“I feel like if it wasn't for the Norman music scene, we definitely wouldn't be as busy,” Kornele said. “There's always something to do here. … There's a really nice connectedness about the Norman scene.”
Cherry Laurel’s third album, “Taxi Lullaby" was released Jan. 22. A departure from their usual style, the album marks a bold new direction. Kornele described it as sounding “special, but also wrong at the same time,” with dramatic shifts between tracks.
“Our main goal for this album was to be like the Beatles White Album, where every song sounded like it could have been off of a different album,” Kornele said.
The band celebrated the release of “Taxi Lullaby” with a release show at Opolis on Jan. 24, performing the entirety of the album. Kornele said the response to their latest release has been encouraging.
“A lot of the feedback we got was about the actual sound of it, and not just the songs,” Kornele said. “So that was cool — to just be like, ‘oh, people actually like what we're doing.”
Fans can keep up with Cherry Laurel and learn about future shows on its Instagram. “Taxi Lullaby” and other albums are available on Spotify and Apple Music.
This story was edited by Madisson Cameron. Allie Clift and Sophie Hemker copy edited this story.
