Meet the Singing Solicitor using music for good

Many of us use music as a tool for relaxation and escapism, and Northampton man Kevin Rogers is no exception, but he has turned up the volume and made a name for himself as the self-styled Singing Solicitor.

He told Sammy Jones how music is intrinsically linked to his health and wellbeing – and how he uses it to help worthy causes…

The chair of regional law firm Wilson Browne Solicitors (WB) launched his fourth charity single in the autumn.
Music has always mattered for Kevin, who played in bands throughout his school and college years, ‘never with great success but always with great enthusiasm,’ he remembers.

“I also sang in choirs for the school and sang with the county choir on occasions. My voice was so deep when I was 14 to 16 that I had to sing with the staff choir at school and I remember mum getting me a dinner jacket from a charity shop for about £3.50 to wear that was several sizes too big. I felt like an Italian tenor!”

Music was a shared passion with his late mother who had spurred her son on in more recent years to pick up the musical baton again.
“It was the singing on the landing after a night out in my late teens when I would come home that she really loved, or practising in the house. I think those moments meant a lot to her, never mind seeing me perform in front of a few hundred people.”

Today, music also serves as a way to manage his own mental health, and it was no accident that the most recent release, a cover of the Kings of Leon track Use Somebody, was part of a World Mental Health Day showcase.

“I have had operations on both of my knees and I need to keep them moving just to avoid pain. I have a cross trainer at home that I try, on a good week, to use for just over 30 minutes a morning, five days a week. That has had a major impact on me,” he said, sharing the connection between physical and mental health.

“I am no athlete but I used to be quite a bit heavier – in 2019 I saw a photograph of myself promoting some awards or other for work where I did not recognise myself. That was the year I lost three stones.” he said, explaining his catalyst for change.

“I am a firm believer in doing what you want at the weekend, but eating sensibly and moving a bit, really makes a difference for the other days in a week. That, coupled with the clear and open communication I have always enjoyed with, and support from, my wife Rachel, and the support from key individuals and partners at Wilson Browne, and in my circle of friends, is really important.

“When you stop talking, stop moving, and start eating, or whatever your poison is, it is a quick slippery slope, so I always come back to that sort of combination.

“I tell myself that a routine that involves ‘me time’ – including exercise and music – as well as family time, and time for work is essential.
It’s a balancing act, and you really need to strike that balance: “If you let one take over and neglect the others, cracks appear. You can shift the balance when needed, but don’t be away from any one thing for too long.”

“You have to remember that you are in charge of your diary, you are in charge of what you do and don’t do or eat or don’t eat, and make excuses for.”

And who better for Kevin to learn from, than his father: “My dad is in his 90’s and has always been active and continues to be. He is a huge inspiration for me in that sense.”

How do you balance the need to keep physically and mentally healthy with the day job? How stressful is your role with two others on the Board of WB?

“We are tasked with delivering the strategic vision of the wider partnership and we have grown significantly over the last 10 years or so. It has been a very challenging time, as well as a thrilling one. Some individual issues can be really worrying. If you have something impact the business, that in turn might impact other people’s jobs – there is no one else to make that decision but us three on the Board. Overall though we do not exist in a state of heightened stress. We learned long ago to tackle problems head on; to buy in outside support if we need, to share the load internally if we have to, but simply to not put issues off.”

A simple lesson, but one that many people don’t heed, right?

“The longer you put something off, the longer it has to fester. I know that each of us three loves what we do – there are days of course when that is less true than others, but on the whole we would not do it, and the firm would not be achieving at the rate at which it is, if we did not absolutely love it.”

As the Singing Solicitor, Kevin gets to let his inner performer out, while using the platform he has to support worthy causes. Previously, his annual single releases (tracks by Billy Bragg, Adele and Snow Patrol) had benefited the Lewis Foundation, a charity he continues to support, while the Kings of Leon delivery has raised in excess of eight thousand pounds for Northamptonshire Mind.
If people want to support your charity work, how is it best to do it?

“The easiest way to help me raise some money is to ask your streaming service to play Use Somebody by Kevin Rogers and have a listen, look for my other songs, and leave them on repeat even if the volume is down,” he smiled, “Or visit the justgiving page.”
As the new year comes into view, is there a fifth hit single ready for the Kevin treatment?

“Now, there is a thought,” he ponders, “I have massive imposter syndrome about the whole thing, to be honest. I am not trying to be the next Shane Ward or whoever,” but in the era of faceless keyboard warriors, Kevin has had to face less than kind comments: “I find it difficult to read those, especially when the activity is linked to a charity,” he admits, “But I have long since realised, as a litigator, that I cannot control what people say, I can only control how I respond – and that is what the “block” button is for!

“I simply do not need that negativity in my life, even if I am only trying to make myself feel mentally better, never mind raise funds or awareness for a charity.

“I don’t know, I feel that for the most part people have probably had enough!”
But he’s not closing the door completely for future releases, or to live performance, having only taken the stage a couple of times in recent years at charity events.

“I would like to perform live more, but then I am not actually all that sure that anyone would turn up if it was not linked to a charitable cause. Perhaps I should find out…” he teased.

To support Kevin’s fundraising, visit justgiving.com/page/singingsolicitormind60