Establishing himself as one of music’s most exciting new voices of Outlaw Country in the United Kingdom, James Dunne is channeling the darker sub genre of country music, carrying on the torch from the weathered, authentic and unapologetic songwriters of the 1980’s. Embracing honest, authentic delivery, and behind a simple musical backdrop, James delivers a raw truth in his storytelling.
October 2022 saw the release of James’ debut single ‘Duty’, recorded at Hidden Track Studios with distinguished producer Oz Craggs, which received immediate critical acclaim amongst reviewers and radio, hungry for more music. The popularity of ‘Duty’ led to invitations to be presented at the British CMA Liverpool Country Music Festival, BCMA Fan Festival, Country on the Coast and Herofest (Help for Heroes) in just 6 short months. The aftereffect saw HMV endorse James as an ‘Artist to Watch’ and where he showcased live in-store.
Continuing in an uphill trajectory, James is set to feature on a charity single for Help For Heroes amongst other selected artists with a global release planned later in the year.
‘Duty’ may have been James’ breakthrough into the music scene but he spent his former years serving in the British Armed Forces (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) for almost a decade, where he was deployed overseas on operational tours of Afghanistan.
James’ humble beginnings saw him born and raised in North London to Irish parents, his father a ground worker and mother a seamstress, to which Irish folk music was prevalent in the household. This early influence is apparent in James’ ability to communicate and evoke a feeling. These vehement life experiences and the one’s that developed later in life as a fallout of becoming a veteran soldier, contribute to James’ unique bare-all and controversial style of song writing despite only writing/performing live for just over a year.
James returns in 2023 with follow-up single ‘Black Train’ from his upcoming EP with the aim to ignite the fire in others too afraid to speak out and say exactly what they want to say and remove the stigma around what you should be singing about to ‘tick the boxes’ to create popular Country music.
