George Ezra

“At 9:30pm all of my preconceptions about music itself were blown out of the water,” writer Amy Bater said. “His voice is so deep and soulful that I knew he would sound incredible live, but the way it filled every inch of the room I was not expecting.”

Last year, Ezra, at the age of 20, had created two EPs and debut album Wanted on Voyage, with the smash “Barcelona” and other hits like “Cassy O.” The debut album topped the British charts.  Ezra matched Ed Sheeran for Brit Awards nominations, getting listed for British male solo artist, breakthrough artist, single and album.

He didn’t walk out with any trophies but his music sales soared.

“I started working with George a couple years ago,” his North American agent, Kirk Sommer, told Pollstar. “He reminded me of Elvis meets Josh Homme; he had real character and incredible songs, then I found out how old he was. I stalked his manager for weeks in the alps.”

Ezra moved to Bristol at age 17 to study songwriting. When he signed to Columbia at 18, he had “only four or five songs.” By January 2014, the song “Budapest” was becoming a hit across Europe and he had a sold-out UK tour.

“Budapest is a global smash,” Sommer said. “I’m looking forward to people discovering George Ezra as an artist and the rest of his incredible album as his star continues to ascend.

“George has already toured with Sam Smith and he’s currently on tour supporting Hozier  and receiving standing ovations,” he added. “These highly coveted support runs are followed up by a sold-out headline run into Coachella and all the major summer festivals into Austin City Limits.” – Joe Reinartz