Almost a decade since he last toured Australia, James Vincent McMorrow returns in 2025 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of his beloved debut album, 'Early In The Morning'.
These won't be any ordinary gigs either, with McMorrow to perform solo, with just his guitar, reimagining the songs that propelled him to international fame.Alongside performing 'Early In The Morning' in its entirety, the Irish singer-songwriter will then return for a second set of his other hits, new music and select covers when he headlines concerts in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in June – his first Australian live dates since 2017.
Released in 2010, 'Early In The Morning' introduced McMorrow's achingly raw, beautifully emotional songwriting including 'We Don't Eat', 'Hear The Noise That Moves So Soft And Low' and 'If I Had A Boat'. It also features the cover of Steve Winwood's 'Higher Love' (also covered by Whitney Houston).
"Honestly, when the idea of these shows was pitched to me I wasn't really into it. I make music in order to push myself forward, the idea of looking backwards at something I made at the very beginning felt a bit odd.
"Then late last year I was in the studio working on some new ideas and I found myself sitting playing songs off 'Early In The Morning', ones I hadn't played in over ten years.
"I sat in front of the mic and recorded the entire album from memory, just to see how it felt. I'd forgotten how much I loved that record. I had no clue what I was doing when I made it, it wasn't profound, it was just someone hanging on for dear life and trying to will it into existence. The naivety of it all came flooding back to me, I didn't realise how much I missed the naivety.
"That album changed my life; when it came out I felt like a whole person for the first time, even when I was driving around in my car playing for 30 people every night, it felt like I was doing a thing that mattered.
"The bigger and bigger it got, the less I got to appreciate and enjoy it all. Maybe that's inevitable, for me, I know I was struggling mentally with being in the public eye, it's never been my favourite thing.
"One thing I have only realised in these last few months is just how much that album means to people. It's not something I've ever thought about, I don't sit around thinking about my records and what they mean, but people keep letting me know, feels like time has been incredibly kind to it.
"A lot has changed for me, but the more I thought about it the more I realised that selfishly I wanted to have some new moments centred around the album, ones that I could enjoy it in the moment. There is no agenda, it's just naivety and nostalgia, I want to stand on a stage with a guitar and sing the songs that changed my life.
"So that's what I'm going to do. The show will be split into two halves, the first half I will play all of 'Early In The Morning' front to back. Then after an interval I'll come back and play songs from across the other records, also some covers and new songs. It's just gonna be me onstage, see you there."
Tickets on sale from 11am (local time) on 21 March.
James Vincent McMorrow 2025 Tour Dates
Tue 3 Jun - Metro Theatre (Sydney)Thu 5 Jun - Northcote Theatre (Melbourne)
Sat 7 Jun - The Princess Theatre (Brisbane)
