James Morrison is to play Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall on Wednesday, November 2, 2011.

Tickets priced £25 will be available from 9am on Friday, September 2, at Midland Box Office on 0870 320 7000 or online at www.wolvescivic.co.uk

The concert is in support of Morrison’s third album. As the title suggests, The Awakening is the sound of an artist coming of age. In his personal life, Morrison has become a father, while losing his own father after the latter’s long battle with alcoholism and depression.

At the same time, Morrison, 26, has matured as a singer, songwriter and musician, enabling him to channel all of that emotion into his most accomplished collection of songs yet.

“My first two albums felt like practice shots,” he says, “and now I’ve graduated. In many ways this feels like my first proper album.”

Those first two albums – Undiscovered (2006) and Songs for You, Truths for Me (2008) – have sold a combined total of 4.5m copies and yielded an astonishing ten singles, including You Give Me Something, Wonderful World, The Pieces Don’t Fit Anymore and the global smash Broken Strings, featuring Nelly Furtado. Those practice shots turned Morrison into an international star.

The Awakening is a warm, live-sounding collection of classic but contemporary folk-soul songs. There are musical similarities with Morrison’s debut, but with added panache and self-belief. There are soaring strings, uplifting harmonies, soulful ballads and, in Slave to the Music, a hand-clapping dancefloor groover – a new string to his bow. There are also nods to Motown, gospel, country and a hint of Latin.

“To me, pop music is just great music that lasts for years,” he says. “Though there is the other side of pop, which is where you have a hit, but then, after it comes out, it never gets heard again. I never wanted to make that sort of music.”

Official Website: www.jamesmorrisonmusic.com