Clover is Seattle Pacific University’s latest example of great musical talent. Led by front woman Lizzy Butler, the group exudes a fun and seemingly effortless energy on stage. While they sit comfortably in the indie pop-rock genre, their dynamic song structures and musical makeup differentiates them from others in the genre.
The group consists of Butler on vocals and rhythm guitar, David Diepersloot on lead guitar, Gavin Abel on bass and Jayson Harper on drums. They compose their music together, with Butler heading up the majority of lyrics. Butler has carried a passion for writing from a very young age.
“I can’t really remember a time I wasn’t [writing],” Butler said. “I loved singer/songwriters. I was raised on Joni Mitchell and a lot of folk artists and I loved Taylor Swift when I was a kid.”
Butler utilizes her influences to bring out songs that represent what is going on in her own life.
“I do a lot of songwriting as a way to cope with my struggles,” Butler said
The lyrics written by Butler are musically accompanied in a way that allows her voice to stand at the forefront of the songs. Clover’s instrumental melodies are driven by Abel’s bass, with his playing echoing Butler’s vocal melodies as well filling in the blanks with catchy riffs when necessary. These melodies are complemented nicely by Diepersloot’s restrained, yet important lead guitar.
Diepersloot and Abel are clearly musically proficient, but they never take attention from Butler’s confident and powerful vocals save for the occasional solo. Their balanced melody work is fleshed out by Harper’s electric drumming and Butler’s subtle rhythm guitar. In short, every member seems to have an understanding of what the song at hand needs. The songs themselves rarely end where they start, and carry with them a sense of progression.
Clover first formed in 2023, and has already managed to gain local notability. In March of 2025 they were a featured band at More Music @ The Moore, and in May they opened for The Greeting Committee at Shapadooah, SPU’s largest musical event of the year. The group holds a prevalent reverence for making and performing music, something that is apparent both on and off of the stage.
“I don’t think there’s anything more rewarding than playing a good show or making art that connects with somebody and you see that,” Diepersloot said. “It’s like the best feeling ever. I think once you feel that you kind of chase it, and that’s all you want to do.”
It was a 2024 performance in celebration of Halloween at the Fremont Abbey, a quaint music venue tucked beneath a church in Fremont, that opened their eyes to how Clover could chase that feeling. Dawning the outfits of the Mystery Crew from Scooby-Doo the band performed for a primarily college-aged audience of about 75 people.
“I don’t think a lot of us were expecting much from the first year of playing, but ever since the Halloween Abby show I feel like all our motivations really shifted to focusing on this band and just building songs,” Abel said. “We realized that we can do everything we’ve wanted to do in terms of like playing a show for people at that point. The crowd was jumping and we were getting good feedback and I was like ‘yeah, this is something that can keep going.’”
In November, the band submitted an audition recording for what would become their most important performance to date: More Music @ The Moore, an annual musical event showcasing local musicians with a large performance at The Moore Theatre. After submitting a video of them performing their original song “Dog” just before the deadline, the group was accepted and began rehearsing with multiple other talented young musicians. The experience was formative, as well as beneficial to the future of the band.
“The collaborative numbers are definitely helping us sharpen our musician skills which has been an awesome, awesome process for us,” Butler said.
They performed their original song “Charade” at The Moore and spent the rest of their time on stage performing with other musicians. Clover was one of only two bands at the showcase.
“These people are super fun to work with, the connections we’ve made are really awesome,” Abel said. “Just moving forward I feel like there’s a lot of good resources so it’s just such a good opportunity. We’re so thankful for it.”
The Moore will not be their last large show, as the group is adamant in their dedication to live performances.
“I want to go on tour at least once, that’s my dream,” Butler said.
Clover is already set to perform at Skylark Cafe on May 29, THING Fest on Aug. 2 and at Make.Shift Art Space on Oct. 2. They are also working on a single that is set to release in the summer. It is growingly apparent that Butler, Diepersloot, Abel and Harper are steadfast in their dedication to creating music. Clover is worth keeping an eye on.
