My husband often jokes about my love for what he calls “whisper music.” He refers to that gentle folk music that wraps around you like a blanket, instantly making you feel calm and comforted. Or at least that’s what it does to me. So I’m pretty excited that James Vincent McMorrow is coming out to Australia to celebrate the 15th anniversary of his acclaimed debut album, Early in the Morning.
James promises to play this album in its entirety solo with just a guitar, which sounds like my idea of heaven. He’ll also treat audiences to some new music and choice covers.
“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,” he said. “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 10 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.”
It remains to be seen whether I can convince my husband to indulge me with a night of “whisper music” … I’ve got a couple of months to work on him. Tickets are on sale now for these shows in June.
3 June 2025 – Metro Theatre, Eora/Sydney
5 June 2025 – Northcote Theatre, Naarm/Melbourne
7 June 2025 – Princess Theatre, Meeanjin/Brisbane
Image used with permission from Revolutions per Minute