A soulful singer/songwriter from a small English town with a penchant for crafting moving and evocative folk-pop confections in the vein of Ed Sheeran, Foy Vance, and Ben Howard, James Bay hails 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. He issued his debut EP, Dark of the Morning, in 2013, with a second extended player, Let It Go, arriving the following year.