The last year or so has certainly been a wild and wonderful ride for Passenger, aka Mike Rosenberg: from years dedicated to busking the streets of towns and cities across the globe, to worldwide recognition. Long before Passenger’s unmistakable voice unexpectedly found a home on mainstream radio waves around the world, Rosenberg was committed to taking his music to the people literally one street at a time. When the Brighton UK-born artist’s band broke up in 2007, Rosenberg inadvertently set about forging his own musical path as a genuine troubadour. He held onto the band’s name, and began travelling across countries and continents, armed with only his guitar and his voice and a swag of unique songs. After nearly three years of travelling and three albums, Passenger had established itself as one of the most popular new acts on the Australian live circuit and started to regularly sell out rooms and theatres of 500-plus. It wasn’t until the release of his second single, “Let Her Go,” on his 4th album that the rest of the world began to tune in. “Let Her Go” has topped the 2.5 million mark in global sales, as well as over 78 million YouTube hits so far. Of course, you can still catch Passenger busking in almost every city he visits — only nowadays, it’s pretty much standing-room only! http://passengermusic.com/
Born to a Jamaican father and British mother, Liam Bailey’s musical influences range from soul to reggae, and punk to R&B. While his voice is often compared to that of Otis Redding and Sam Cooke, he’s as likely to reference Etta James as he is The Smiths. Known for co-writing Chase & Status’ Top 5 smash: “Blind Faith feat. Liam Bailey,” Liam’s initial introduction to the music business came via the late Amy Winehouse who, after meeting him released his first 2 EPs on her Lioness Records imprint. Amy first heard Liam’s music through a mutual friend & acclaimed producer Salaam Remi, who amongst others, is working with Liam on his debut album. The album, which was also co-written and produced by Bailey will be released by Flying Buddha (Sony Music Masterworks) in August, coinciding with a U.S. tour. http://www.liambaileymusic.co.uk