Artist Information
James Dupré, named one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s, “Country Artists You Need to Know”, has a pitch-perfect baritone voice and has spent a lot of time sharing his voice with his fans, garnering millions of views across multiple social media platforms. He has also performed at venues and festivals across the United States, Canada, and parts of Europe. A former EMT-Paramedic and Louisiana native, James grew up listening to and studying the vocals of artists such as Merle Haggard, George Jones, Vince Gill, and Randy Travis. Musically and lyrically, he was influenced by pop and rock artists from the 60-90s, including the Eagles, Jackson Browne, Journey, and Matchbox 20.
One might think that James’ career started in 2015, when viewers from around the world saw him get a highly coveted 4-chair turn on NBC’s “The Voice” with his rendition of “Let Her Cry” (Hootie and the Blowfish), landing him on Adam Levine’s team; however, James’ high visibility on YouTube was where it all began. James captured the attention of Ellen DeGeneres and received an invitation to make a guest appearance on The Ellen Show. This national exposure was followed by the release of his first album “It’s All Happening”, produced by Kyle Lehning (Randy Travis, George Jones) and Jerry Douglas (Alison Krauss), and ultimately led to a record deal with Warner Music Nashville.
Through Kyle Lehning, James was introduced to one of his musical heroes, Randy Travis. This connection would open further doors for James’ career as he made his debut in the film industry in 2013, co-starring next to Randy in an independent movie entitled “The Price”, which would later be released in 2015.
After his departure from Warner and his time on “The Voice” was over, James released his second studio album, “Stoned to Death” produced by Jordan Lehning (Kacey Musgraves, Rodney Crowell). The 2016 album rendered the successful Billboard Indicator charting single by the same name, as well as millions of streams. James co-wrote the majority of the tracks on the album.
James married his long-term girlfriend, Kelsie in 2018 and the two welcomed their first child together in 2019, a girl, Rellie Evangeline. James also has four sons from his previous marriage – Paul, Topher, Nickie, and Jackson.
In the fall of 2019, James was handpicked by Randy and Mary Travis as vocalist for “The Music of Randy Travis” tour (now known as the “More Life” tour). Along with Randy’s original band, James performs all of Randy’s biggest hits. During these performances, Mr. Travis remains on stage and engages with all of his fans who come from near and far. Stops have included the legendary Mother Church of Country Music, The Ryman in Nashville, TN, among others.
In the midst of the pandemic, James recorded and released his third studio album, “Home and Away” in 2020. Produced by Matt McClure (Lee Brice), it required an unusual method of recording due to social distancing and COVID restrictions, with many parts being recorded in the musicians’ own home studios, and being directed by McClure via a livestream. The experiment was a success and the final product had three singles released: “Another Love Song”, “Painfully Pretty”, and “Home and Away”. James co-wrote all but one song on the album.
