James Bay

Bluesy English singer-songwriter James Bay crafts moving and evocative folk-pop delivered with a warm, raspy voice. Hailing from the North Hertfordshire market town of Hitchin, Bay honed his skills regionally, eventually landing high-exposure support slots with Tom Odell, John Newman, and Kodaline before inking a record deal with Republic/Universal in 2012. Riding the success of platinum single Hold Back the River, his 2015 debut Chaos and the Calm was a breakthrough, soaring to number one in the U.K. and landing in the Top Ten across Europe and Australasia. He has since followed it up with the 2018 studio album Electric Light, an EP and a string of singles, showcasing an evolved sound that incorporated polished production and exploratory flourish.