Likened to Stevie Wonder and Pearl Jam and admired by Pete Townsend of The Who, Foy Vance is on the cusp of being at the top of your most played playlist. With a fistful of heart and a heart full of soul, Foy confidently bridges genres and sings with so much passion you’d think his life depended on it.
Foy’s complex, compelling sound comes from a wide-ranging past. Originally from County Down, Foy spent most of his childhood crossing the plains of America’s Deep South hearing gospel, rhythm’n’blues, country and soul in their purest forms. On returning to Ireland, he played guitar in the solitude of his bedroom before touring Scotland with a soul band and becoming resident acoustic songster in a bar in Lanzarote.
After being discovered by the same people who found Joss Stone, Foy smashed out of anonymity and into the musical spotlight in 2005. His debut EP Live Sessions and the Birth of the Toilet Tour granted him a series of supporting gigs alongside KT Tunstall, seminal blues player Taj Mahal and Grammy award winner Bonnie Rait. After two of his songs were featured on cult US medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, Foy found himself with a considerable following in both Canada and the USA. And it won’t be long before he enjoys similar success this side of the Atlantic too.
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