Evie Irie

An Australian pop singer and songwriter with a rich, soulful voice and personal lyrical style, Evie Irie made her major-label debut with the EP 5 Weeks in LA in 2019. Hailing from just outside of Sydney, Irie started performing in area cafés and restaurants at a young age, writing her own songs from the age of 12. She turned to the life experiences of her older sister for material on some of her earliest material. In her mid-teens, in lieu of doing an exchange program like many of her friends, her parents agreed she should take some time off to visit Los Angeles (and, ultimately, New York and Nashville) to take writing sessions and shop labels. Irie not only found interest in her songs in the U.S. but reportedly started a bidding war in Los Angeles that ultimately led to her signing with Republic Records. She was 16 years old when they released her first EP, 5 Weeks in LA, in mid-2019. Irie opened shows for the likes of Sigrid and Bastille before returning with "Over Him" and "Worst Enemy" in early 2020. Her sophomore EP, The Optimist, arrived later that fall. ~ Marcy Donelson