James Marriott

This Swiss-born, U.K.-raised purveyor of emotive, immediate, Foals- and Strokes-inspired indie rock is also a highly successful influencer, specializing in witty commentary and cutting takedowns. By the time Are We There Yet? -- his 2023 debut album -- was released, his channel had already amassed two million followers. In 2025, he topped the U.K. Albums chart with his sophomore outing, Don't Tell the Dog. Born in 1997, Marriott was raised in Buckinghamshire, England, where he started grammar school in 2008. That same year, he made tentative steps online by uploading his own animations. By 2012, Marriott's focus had shifted to music, leading him to share videos of his instrumental acoustic work. After attending a Wiltshire college, he enrolled at UCL in London to study for a BA in Modern Languages, specializing in Spanish and Portuguese. He spent six months of the course in Granada, Spain and, upon graduating, moved to Brighton on the U.K.'s south coast. Marriott emerged from university as an online celebrity, regularly commenting on popular culture and reviewing music for over a million followers. A synth-driven, '80s yacht rock-inspired May 2020 debut single, "Slow Down," marked his first major step toward building a career in music. This was followed in January 2021 with the more guitar-oriented EP No Left Brain. July 2021's standalone single, "Wake Up!" recalled Bastille and the pop-focused side of Foals. June 2022's Bitter Tongues EP nodded to 2000s indie from the likes of Maximo Park and the Whitest Boy Alive while also managing to incorporate disco on its closing track, "Grapes."Each of these releases set the platform for his first U.K. tour. Accompanied by a full band, Marriott set out in February 2023, going on to support Jake Bugg at the Royal Albert Hall the following month. May saw him make an appearance at the Great Escape in Brighton, before opening in Leeds for Two Door Cinema Club, a band close to his heart. His debut album was teased by a handful of singles -- "So Long," "Romanticise This," and "Don't Blame Me" -- before Marriott played dates in Brisbane and Sydney. On his return, Are We There Yet? reached the Top 20 of the U.K. album charts. In early 2025, he delivered the rousing "I Don't Want to Live Like This" as the first single off his sophomore album. More singles followed, including "It's Only Love," "Toothache," and "Something's Wrong," all leading up to the May release of Don't Tell the Dog. Inspired by a painful childhood experience in which Marriott's family left their dog behind during a move, the album topped the U.K. charts.
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