While the coronavirus pandemic has put a hold on live shows, local artists continue to release music.

That includes Virginia Beach’s Travelers, who put out a timely cover of Matchbox Twenty’s “How Far We’ve Come” earlier this month. 

“It's like one of my top 10 favorite songs,” band member Tom Kearns said. “Obviously COVID-19 hit and all that and I was like this feels like end times, like all of 2020 feels like this is the end of the world. Like we should definitely cover this song.”

Kearns is the vocalist and front man for the band, which also includes drummer Brandon Jenkins.

Apart from being an extremely catchy song, Kearns says it has a message that resonates with the current situation. 

“If you look at the lyrics, it's an encouraging song," he said. "It's saying like, look at what we've done. Look at how, you know, how far we've come. Even though it might seem like the end of the world, like we have a stubborn spirit as a human race. We'll keep going.”

The band also put out a music video to accompany the song, including Kearns and Jenkins in full jumpsuits with masks.

“Our goal is to leave a little nicer mark on the world and leave everybody feeling a little more happy and energized after listening to us,” Kearns said. 

Whether that’s through alt rock jams, electronic synthesizers or hip hop beats, they deliver on that promise. 

And while they like to have fun, they aspire to communicate deeper meaning with their music. Like their debut album, “Hideko,” released in 2019.

“It’s all about searching and finding purpose, whether that’s writing a song, or poem or making art of any kind,” Kearns said.

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