# Foy Vance
**Foy Vance** (born 1974 in [Bangor, County Down](https://www.edgepedia.org/bangor-county-down), Northern Ireland) is a singer-songwriter whose music combines folk, soul, and Southern American blues, shaped by a childhood spent in the churches of the United States Bible Belt. He has released seven studio albums, from *Hope* (2007) to *The Wake* (2026), and won a Primetime Emmy in 2024 as a co-writer of "A Beautiful Game" for the television series *Ted Lasso*.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816) • [2](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/2026/09/30/foy-vance-im-enjoying-my-sobriety-everything-gets-better-including-your-bank-account-2/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1974, Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816) |
| Upbringing | Son of a traveling preacher; raised in Oklahoma in early childhood, then Belfast from about age five[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816) |
| Studio albums | *Hope* (2007), *Joy of Nothing* (2013), *The Wild Swan* (2016), *From Muscle Shoals* and *To Memphis* (2019), *Signs of Life* (2021), *The Wake* (2026)[3](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/foy-vance/68235486) |
| Labels | Wurdamouth, Rubyworks, Glassnote, Gingerbread Man Records (Ed Sheeran's label), Rounder Records[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816) • [4](https://concord.com/artist/foy-vance/) |
| Signature songs | "She Burns", "Guiding Light" (with Ed Sheeran), "Make It Rain", "Burden"[3](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/foy-vance/68235486) |
| Emmy | 2024, Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, for "A Beautiful Game" (*Ted Lasso*), with Ed Sheeran and Max Martin[2](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/2026/09/30/foy-vance-im-enjoying-my-sobriety-everything-gets-better-including-your-bank-account-2/) |
| Home | Scotland-based; records partly at his home studio, Dunvarlich House, in the Scottish Highlands[5](https://www.opry.com/artists/foy-vance) |
## Early life
Vance was born in Bangor, County Down, in 1974. His father, Hugh Bailie Vance, was a pastor with the evangelical Church of Christ, and shortly after the birth of the family's youngest son he moved the household to Oklahoma, in the American Bible Belt.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816) • [2](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/2026/09/30/foy-vance-im-enjoying-my-sobriety-everything-gets-better-including-your-bank-account-2/) Traveling with his father among poor churches across the southern United States, Vance heard soul, gospel, and blues at close range, and his father, a musician himself, taught him basic acoustic guitar patterns and some 12-bar blues.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816) • [6](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/who-the-hell-is-1.1034222) By age five the family had returned to [Northern Ireland](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-ireland) and settled in Belfast, where Vance broadened his listening to folk, rock, and pop.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816)
During the 1990s he sang lead with the Belfast soul group Soul Truth before returning to the acoustic guitar as a singer-songwriter.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816)
## The Lanzarote turning point
In January 1999, while playing a residency gig on the Spanish island of [Lanzarote](https://www.edgepedia.org/lanzarote), Vance experienced what he has described as a moment of transcendence onstage during one of his lyrical improvisations; the next morning he learned that his father had suffered a fatal heart attack that night.[5](https://www.opry.com/artists/foy-vance) He resolved to create seven albums informed by the loss, and within eight months had assembled enough material for four records.[5](https://www.opry.com/artists/foy-vance) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816)
His first commercial release came five years later: the six-track EP *Live Sessions & the Birth of the Toilet Tour* (2005), recorded in lavatory stalls across the United Kingdom and Ireland because he found the studio environment too sterile.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816) In 2006, two of his demo recordings, "Gabriel and the Vagabond" and "Homebird", were used in the American medical drama *Grey's Anatomy*, and "Homebird" became the title track of a second EP.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816)
## Studio albums
**Hope (2007).** Vance's debut album was recorded in a cottage in the Mourne Mountains of County Down and co-mixed by producer Tchad Blake, known for work with [Tom Waits](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-waits) and American Music Club. Released in Northern Ireland on Wurdamouth Records in July 2007, it was picked up by the Dublin label Rubyworks for a [Republic of Ireland](https://www.edgepedia.org/republic-of-ireland) release that September.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816)
**Joy of Nothing (2013).** His second album appeared on Glassnote Records and includes "Guiding Light", a duet with [Ed Sheeran](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-sheeran).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816) • [3](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/foy-vance/68235486) Vance had toured with Sheeran in 2012.[7](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6670616930)
**The Wild Swan (2016).** Sheeran approached Vance to release his third album on Gingerbread Man Records, Sheeran's independent label. Executive produced by [Elton John](https://www.edgepedia.org/elton-john), the 12-track set became Vance's highest-charting album to date and produced the songs "She Burns" and "Burden".[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816) • [3](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/foy-vance/68235486)
**From Muscle Shoals and To Memphis (2019).** Vance returned to the American South for two albums in one year: the soul- and R&B-heavy *From Muscle Shoals*, recorded at FAME Studios in Alabama, and the Americana-leaning *To Memphis*, recorded at Sam Phillips Recordings Studios in Tennessee. "Make It Rain", from the former, became one of his most-streamed songs.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816) • [5](https://www.opry.com/artists/foy-vance) • [3](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/foy-vance/68235486)
**Signs of Life (2021).** Sessions took place at Vance's Scottish home studio at Dunvarlich House and at Plan B's King's X studio in London, with distribution by Atlantic. The song "Sapling" followed as a single with [Rag'n'Bone Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/ragnbone-man).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816) • [3](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/foy-vance/68235486)
**The Wake (2026).** Produced by Ethan Johns, the Brit Award-winning producer known for his work with [Paul McCartney](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-mccartney) and [Ray LaMontagne](https://www.edgepedia.org/ray-lamontagne), *The Wake* is Vance's seventh album and his debut for Concord's Rounder Records. Its 13 songs mix folk, soul, and Southern blues and complete the seven-album project he set in motion after his father's death in 1999.[5](https://www.opry.com/artists/foy-vance) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816) • [4](https://concord.com/artist/foy-vance/)
## Songwriting and collaborations
Vance's writing credits extend well beyond his own records. He co-wrote four songs, including "Galway Girl", on Ed Sheeran's 2017 album, and wrote the end-credits track for [Ben Affleck](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-affleck)'s film *Live By Night*.[8](https://www.euronews.com/2019/01/14/getting-to-know-singer-songwriter-foy-vance) With Sheeran and the Swedish producer [Max Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/max-martin) he wrote "A Beautiful Game" for *Ted Lasso*; the song won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics in 2024.[2](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/2026/09/30/foy-vance-im-enjoying-my-sobriety-everything-gets-better-including-your-bank-account-2/) He also collaborated with the electronic producer Illenium on the single "Blood" (2019).[7](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6670616930)
As a live performer he has held supporting slots with [KT Tunstall](https://www.edgepedia.org/kt-tunstall), Taj Mahal, Dave Matthews, Joss Stone, and [Bonnie Raitt](https://www.edgepedia.org/bonnie-raitt), and has joined [Pete Townshend](https://www.edgepedia.org/pete-townshend) onstage for jam sessions.[6](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/who-the-hell-is-1.1034222)
## IF and current work
In August 2026 Vance announced his eighth studio album, *IF*, a 16-song project produced by Anderson East and drawn from more than 100 songs spanning his career, some featuring co-writes with Lori McKenna, Natalie Hemby, Gabe Simon, and Ross Copperman. The album unfolds in three parts released as separate EPs: *IF: WE* (October 30, 2026), followed by *IF: YOU* and *IF: I*, with the full album due April 30, 2027.[9](https://shorefire.com/releases/entry/foy-vance-uncovers-enduring-wisdom-in-three-part-albumif) • [10](https://www.foyvance.com/)
## References
1. [Foy Vance Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/foy-mn0000907816)
2. ["I'm enjoying my sobriety. Everything gets better – including your bank account", The Irish Times (2026)](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/2026/09/30/foy-vance-im-enjoying-my-sobriety-everything-gets-better-including-your-bank-account-2/)
3. [Foy Vance, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/foy-vance/68235486)
4. [Foy Vance, Concord](https://concord.com/artist/foy-vance/)
5. [Foy Vance, Opry](https://www.opry.com/artists/foy-vance)
6. ["Who the Hell Is? Foy Vance", The Irish Times (2006)](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/who-the-hell-is-1.1034222)
7. [Foy Vance, Apple Snapshot](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6670616930)
8. ["Getting to know singer-songwriter Foy Vance", Euronews (2019)](https://www.euronews.com/2019/01/14/getting-to-know-singer-songwriter-foy-vance)
9. ["Foy Vance Uncovers Enduring Wisdom In Three-Part Album If", Shore Fire Media (2026)](https://shorefire.com/releases/entry/foy-vance-uncovers-enduring-wisdom-in-three-part-albumif)
10. [Foy Vance Official Website](https://www.foyvance.com/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Blues, folk, and roots musicians › Contemporary folk singer-songwriters › Contemporary indie folk artists*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license