Early James

Born in 1993 in Troy, Alabama, Fredrick James Mullis Jr. performs as Early James. His writing sits between Americana, folk, blues, alternative country and roots-tinged rock, marked by a raspy voice and songs that combine oblique narratives, dark humor and melodic tension. In his early twenties he moved to Birmingham, where he honed his repertoire within a local scene at the crossroads of blues, folk and rock, then launched Early James and the Latest around an evolving core of musicians. After a self-titled EP in 2018 he was noticed by Dan Auerbach, who produced his first album Singing for My Supper in 2020 on Easy Eye Sound. That record establishes an acoustic and electric framework where off-kilter ballads, wayward country and dry blues intersect. Early James followed with Strange Time To Be Alive in 2022, an album broader in texture that features Sierra Ferrell on Real Low Down Lonesome, and then released Medium Raw in 2025. Having played stages such as the Newport Folk Festival, Early James fits into a revisited American tradition without nostalgia, between folk sparseness, rock nervousness and distinctive songwriting.