James Vincent McMorrow
James Vincent McMorrow (born 14 February 1983) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician.
James Vincent McMorrow

p_a_h · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- James Vincent McMorrow
- Born
- 14 February 1983
- Birthplace
- Dublin, Ireland
- Occupation
- * Singer
- Nationality
- Ireland
- Fields
- folk music · singing
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
James Vincent McMorrow (born 14 February 1983) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for James Vincent McMorrow. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q3161463 · wikipedia · James Vincent McMorrow
In this article
Biography
Biography
McMorrow worked across singer-songwriter, singer and composer. The registers place that work in folk music, folk rock and traditional folk music. This article rests on 49 catalogued compositions, 2 published texts and 64 issued recordings drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.

James Vincent McMorrow and his band performing at the 2011 SXSW Music festival.
p_a_h

James Vincent McMorrow, Shepherds Bush Empire, London
Drew de F Fawkes · James Vincent McMorrow, Shepherds Bush Empire, London
Key facts
Key facts
• Background — person • Name — James Vincent McMorrow • Landscape — yes • Born — 14 February 1983 • Birthplace — Dublin, Ireland • Genre — * Folk rock • indie rock • alternative rock • Occupation — * Singer • songwriter • Instruments — * Vocals • guitar • keyboards • banjo • drums • Label — * Vagrant • Believe Digital • Dew Process • Dine Alone • Faction Records • Website — jamesvmcmorrow.com
Career
Career
James Vincent McMorrow was born in Dublin, Ireland. His debut album, Early in the Morning, was released in Ireland in February 2010 and in the United States and the rest of Europe in 2011, to widespread acclaim. He made his UK television debut on BBC Two's Later... with Jools Holland on 27 May 2011. In 2014, he released his second album, Post Tropical. It was recorded in 2013 in the small desert town of Tornillo, 55 mi south of El Paso, Texas. The studio is located on a pecan farm, and McMorrow found the location "the most surreal place to work" and one that helped add to the tone of the album and inspire his creativity. He said "I think it's kind of engrained in the record, more than any pinpointed thing. I can hear the hot bedded air in this part. You can hear the birds in the pianos." In 2016, McMorrow announced his third studio album and released "Rising Water", its lead single. We Move was produced by McMorrow, Nineteen85, Frank Dukes, and Two Inch Punch. Released on 2 September 2016, it marks a shift in McMorrow's style towards more R&B-tinged sounds. His cover of the Chris Isaak song "Wicked Game" was used in the first official full-length trailer for the sixth season of the HBO series Game of Thrones. In April 2016, he was featured on the promotional single "I'm in Love" from Kygo's debut album, Cloud Nine. In May 2017, McMorrow released his fourth album, True Care, which peaked at number 22 on the Irish Albums Chart. Tony Clayton-Lea from The Irish Times said, "An artist such as James Vincent McMorrow is commercially successful only on a certain level, so announcing a new album – arriving less than 10 months after his third, the tactically planned We Move – isn't the most financially astute of decisions. There is, however, method in his unorthodox approach. The songs here, on the other hand, are sometimes flawed, occasionally faltering, but always within the grasp of the listener. By being "reactive to the world" he lives in, McMorrow has learned a crucial tortoise/hare lesson: instinct beats intellect every time." McMorrow's 2021 album, titled Grapefruit Season, was produced alongside Paul Epworth, Kenny Beats, Lil Silva, and Patrick Wimberly. He followed it a year later with his sixth record,The Less I Knew. In 2024, McMorrow issued Wide Open, Horses.
Studio albums
Studio albums
• Title — Details — Peak chart positions — Sales — Certifications • IRE — AUS — BEL (Fl) — CAN — FRA — NL — SCO — SWI — UK — US • Early in the Morning — * Released: 26 February 2010 * Label: Believe Digital, Vagrant, Dew Process, Dine Alone * Formats: Digital download, CD — 22 — — — 143 — — — 87 — 68 — 72 — — — 68 — — — * BPI: Silver • Post Tropical — * Released: 10 January 2014 * Label: Believe * Formats: Digital download, CD — 2 — 25 — 77 — — — 122 — 21 — 43 — 78 — 28 — 76 — * US: 18,000 • We Move — * Released: 2 September 2016 * Label: Faction * Formats: Digital download, CD — 1 — 28 — 52 — 77 — 134 — 39 — 46 — 63 — 47 — — • True Care — * Released: 26 May 2017 * Label: Faction * Formats: Digital download, CD — 22 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • Grapefruit Season — * Released: 17 September 2021 * Label: Sony Music * Formats: Digital download, CD, LP — 8 — — — — — — — — — — — 77 — — — 84 — — • The Less I Knew — * Released: 24 June 2022 * Label: Faction * Formats: Digital download — 29 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • Wide Open, Horses — * Released: 4 June 2024 * Label: Nettwerk * Formats: Digital download — 56 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released.
EPs
EPs
• Title — Details • The Sparrow and the Wolf — * Released: 2008 * Label: Faction Records * Formats: Digital download • James Vincent McMorrow — * Released: 2010 (United States) * Label: Faction Records * Formats: Digital download • We Don't Eat — * Released: 2011 * Label: Faction Records * Formats: Digital download
As lead artist
As lead artist
• Title — Year — Peak chart positions — Certifications — Album • IRE — AUS — BEL (Fl) — BEL (Wa) — FRA — NZ Hot — SCO — UK — UK Indie — US Rock Digital • "This Old Dark Machine" — 2011 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Early in the Morning • "Sparrow and the Wolf" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "We Don't Eat" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Higher Love" — 4 — 35 — — — — — — — — — 22 — 21 — 1 — — — * ARIA: Platinum * BPI: Gold — We Don't Eat • "Wicked Game" — 2012 — — — — — — — — — 111 — — — — — — — 44 — 39 • "Cavalier" — 2014 — 66 — — — — — — — 81 — — — — — — — 44 — — — Post Tropical • "Red Dust" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "How to Waste a Moment" — 2015 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single • "Rising Water" — 2016 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — We Move • "Evil" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Get Low" — 2017 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 46 — — • "One Thousand Times" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Me and My Friends" — 2018 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — rowspan="1" Non-album single • "Headlights" — 2020 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Grapefruit Season • "I Should Go" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Gone" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Be Somebody" (with Rudimental) — 2021 — — — — — — — — — — — 34 — — — — — — — — — Ground Control • "Waiting" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Grapefruit Season • "Paradise" — — — — — — — — — — — 38 — — — — — — — — • "Tru Love" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Planes in the Sky" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "The Less I Knew" — 2022 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — The Less I Knew • "Hurricane" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "At Christmas" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — rowspan="3" Non-album singles • "What are the Chances" (with Man Alive) — 2023 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Stay Cool" — 2024 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Never Gone" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Wide Open, Horses • "Rent California" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single • "Cowboys of Los" — 2025 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released.
As featured artist
As featured artist
• Title — Year — Peak chart positions — Album • AUT — NL Tip — NOR — SCO — SWE — SWI — UK — UK Dance — US Dance • "I'm in Love" (Kygo featuring James Vincent McMorrow) — 2016 — 38 — 18 — 9 — 38 — 65 — 39 — 99 — 22 — — — Cloud Nine • "The Future" (San Holo featuring James Vincent McMorrow) — 2017 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 50 — Non-album single • "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released.
Songwriting and production credits
Songwriting and production credits
• Title — Year — Artist — Album — Songwriter — Feature / Vocals — Producer • Primary — Secondary — Additional • "See Yourself" — 2019 — Moreton — Non-album single — ✓ — ✓ • "Just to Exist" — 2018 — All Tvvins — Just to Exist — ✓ — ✓ — ✓ • "always on my mind" — San Holo — album1 — ✓ — ✓ • "Run Away" — 2017 — dvsn — Morning After — ✓ • "The Future" — San Holo — Non-album single — ✓ — ✓ • "I'm in Love" — 2016 — Kygo — Cloud Nine — ✓ — ✓ • "Hype" — Drake — Views — ✓ • "Angela" — dvsn — 5 Sept. — ✓ — ✓
Career and working life
Career and working life
McMorrow worked as singer-songwriter, singer and composer. The fields McMorrow worked in include folk music, folk rock and traditional folk music.
Catalogued output
Compositions
The entries below are works composed by the subject, as the institutional registers catalogue them; later performances and commercial recordings of the same music are listed separately. 49 further compositions are catalogued under McMorrow's name without a date the collections agree on, which is why they are set apart from the dated run rather than placed in it. A selection is set out below and the complete run may be opened beneath it. This Old Dark Machine. If I Had a Boat. We Don’t Eat. We Don't Eat (acoustic version).
The entries follow MusicBrainz
High in California
I'm in Love
All This Time
One Thousand Times
I Lie Awake Every Night
Pocket Full of Roses
From the Woods!!
Early in the Morning, I'll Come Calling
Hear the Noise That Moves So Soft and Low
Holding Onto Heartache
Sparrow and the Wolf
Issued recordings
Primary material
Issued recordings
These are published sound issues catalogued under the name. Most postdate the works they carry, and an issue is never counted here as a work of composition. 5 issues carry dates between 2010 and 2021. The run opens with Early in the Morning and closes with Be Somebody. The 2010s are the densest part of the run, with 4 titles, and that concentration is a fact about what the registers have catalogued rather than a judgement on the work itself.
Recordings and discography
Primary material
Recordings and discography
The discography assembled here shows how McMorrow's work has been published in sound, not what McMorrow made. 59 sound issues are catalogued, carrying dates from 2010 to 2025. An issue is a published recording, distinct from the composition it carries, from a printed score of that composition and from any single performance of it; none of the entries below is counted in the catalogue of compositions above, and several of them carry the same work in different readings. The 2020s are the densest decade of publication, with 38 issues. The performers and issuing labels are as the discographic register states them; where it names no performer the article names none.
Live at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel
2015
Be Somebody
2021
Post Tropical
2014
I Should Go (solo version)
2020
Paradise
2021
Paradise (High Contrast remix)
2021
Rent California
2024
Wake Up (remixes)
2021
Pretty Bug
2020
Grapefruit Season
2021
Meet me in the garden (Alternative Version)
2024
Things we tell ourselves
2024
Never Gone
2024
The Less I Knew (alt version)
2022
I Should Go (Krystal Klear remix)
2020
Get Low (Sander Kleinenberg remix)
2017
Wake Up (Paul Woolford remix)
2021
West Coast (triple j Like A Version)
2017
Gone (Tom Everett remix)
2020
Paradise (Dance System remix)
2021
We Move
2016
Wake Up
2021
Steven (acoustic)
2022
Early in the Morning
2010
Be Somebody (Jess Bays remix)
2021
Cowboys of Los
2025
True Care
2017
The Less I Knew
2022
Alone Together
2017
At Christmas
2022
Gone (Bklava remix)
2021
Higher Love (Matoma remix)
2014
We Don't Eat
2011
I Should Go
2020
Cavalier
2013
Paradise (PS1 remix)
2021
See Yourself
2019
Me and My Friends
2018
Hurricane (acoustic)
2022
Give Up
2024
Wicked Game
2016
If I Had a Boat
2010
Higher Love
2011
Headlights
2020
How to Waste a Moment
2015
We Move (early Recordings & alternate Versions)
2016
I Should Go (Nic Fanciulli remix)
2020
Gone (solo version)
2020
Be Somebody (The Prototypes remix)
2021
Never gone (solo live)
2024
Gone
2020
Glu
2024
Red Dust
2010
Be Somebody (solo version)
2021
Waiting
2021
Wide Open, Horses
2024
Primary material
Documents and archives
institutional register
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q3161463: James Vincent McMorrow
General reference · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “James Vincent McMorrow”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Awards and nominations
In January 2012, McMorrow received a European Border Breakers Award in recognition of Early In The Morning success beyond Ireland.
Authority records
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
institutional register
Wikidata, structured authority record Q3161463: James Vincent McMorrowWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
43,223 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- James TenneyPerson
- James TurlePerson
- James V. MonacoPerson
- James ValentinePerson
- James WhitbournPerson
- James WhitmorePerson
- James William GuercioPerson
- James WilliamsPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by James Vincent McMorrow?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.