“Aaron Rowe” is a name we’ve seen a lot this past week. The rising Irish singer-songwriter had an unusual break into music but shot even further into the spotlight after he withdrew as a supporting act on Ed Sheeran’s “Loop” tour.
Sheeran and the “Loop” touring company removed American rapper Macklemore as an opening act after his on-stage “Free Palestine” remarks. The British singer’s four other openers — including Aaron Rowe — refused to continue with the tour in solidarity and in support of Palestinians.
Here are seven things to know about the Irishman, from his Dublin roots to his musician’s ethos.
Dublin Roots
Aaron Rowe was born in 1996 in South Dublin, specifically Monkstown Farm. He started his musical journey here, from learning to play the guitar to doing live shows at Dublin pubs. After a while, though, Rowe got tired of it. Gigging meant sharing a lot of “Sweet Caroline” covers and playing songs the audience wanted to hear, not sharing his own music. “It gets a bit soul-destroying, to be honest,” he told Guitar.com.
But a Dublin pub is also where he met someone named Lewis Capaldi (you might’ve heard of him). Then Rowe went to Nashville for a writing trip. As he told CLASH, he needed to get out of Dublin: “I needed to take myself out of my comfort zone.” This time, hours away from home, the Irish musician bumped into the Scottish star again during an open mic. Rowe eventually joined Capaldi on his 10-stop United Kingdom and Ireland tour as a supporting act.
He Almost Gave Up on His Dream — Twice
A year after that original serendipitous meeting, Rowe released his first single in May 2025. “Hey Ma” talks of the place where he grew up and the guilt of leaving it. Homesickness bleeds through lyrics like “Yeah, I know it’s just an hour on the aeroplane / But that doesn’t stop it / feelin’ like a world away,” his gritty voice reflecting his vulnerable words.
Hesitation nearly cut his dream short. He almost stopped pursuing his artistry twice: once when he was a teenager because it wasn’t the usual path in his town (kickboxing and boxing were his roots and the more popular choices along with soccer), and another time in his 20s. Rowe even came close to quitting gigging in 2024.
But after he saw a friend busking in Dublin when he was 15, his mother bought him his first guitar, and from there he began writing songs. Years later he finally shared “Hey Ma” with the world. “I’m proud of it and honestly feel like a weight being lifted off me,” the singer-songwriter wrote in an Instagram post. He added, “I spent years hesitating because I was too afraid to fail. ”
Diverse Musical Influences
Rowe’s influences range from American soul to Irish trad. In a Rolling Stones UK interview, he noted he draws inspiration from classic soul artists like Otis Redding and Sam Cooke to Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini. Rowe even titled his debut EP Exodus, which was released in September 2025, in a nod to Bob Marley’s own album.
But there’s also Rowe’s Irish side and his penchant for Irish folk music. His April 2026 single “John’s Song” feels like a cousin to the Irish classic “Danny Boy.” “John’s Song” opens from John’s perspective after a day at Dublin’s Heuston Station went very wrong. He recalls how he was forced to join the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, an infantry regiment of the British Army. John’s last letter to his mother, which he always closes with “Your fond son John,” notes how he’s heading to northern France and The Somme.
For history buffs, The Somme may ring a bell. This John most likely fought in one of the bloodiest World War I battles, the Battle of the Somme, a five-month offensive that concluded in November 1916. It’s at this moment in the song where John’s mother becomes the narrator and speaks directly to her dead son. This is a moment in Rowe’s family history, and in a very Irish way, he tells it through song.
Lived Experience Is the Most Important
“I want people to feel like it’s real, that it’s me in every note,” Rowe says in his Sony UK bio. If there’s anything tying together the Irishman’s discography, it’s the breadth of emotion he explores and the lived experiences that form the foundation of his music.
Take “Hollywood Sign” for example. The August 2026 single percolated in Rowe’s mind for at least a year, until he and his friend Aiden Halliday revisited it. Rowe is not much for words on social media, but when he introduced the track, emotion colored his three paragraphs: “I remember being burnt out the last time we came in to work on it and my voice being wrecked.” That was the point of “Hollywood Sign,” though, Rowe added.
At the end of the caption, he shared, “[T]his one really means a lot to me and I hope it does for you too.” However, the singer-songwriter prefers people find their own meaning. He may give some insight into what inspired the tracks, but the meaning behind the lyrics, the minute production choices, and his vocals are up to the listeners.
Shooting for the Stars in 2026
Rowe may have dropped out of Ed Sheeran’s tour, but the rising Irishman will soon embark on his own journey. Starting in mid-November, he will perform shows in Brighton, Manchester, Glasgow, and Edinburgh before heading back to Dublin and his home country. Rowe will wrap up his self-titled headline tour in London in December.
Recently, the singer-songwriter also appeared as a guest on World Cafe’s Ruby Sessions. Produced by NPR, the live performance series saw Rowe showcase “Please Don’t Hate Me,” “Hey Ma,” “Drawing the Line,” and “John’s Song.”
He brought his raspy vocals to the Electronic Picnic Festival, too, hosted in Ireland’s County Laois, in August. Rowe may have played his small yet mighty discography again, but it hits differently when it’s with your people and in the place you love.
Irish Pride
Scroll through any of Rowe’s posts about his music, and you’ll likely find another Irish creative — or two — tagged as well. Take the album art for his single “Forever Now.” Rowe tapped Irish portrait and documentary photographer Faolán Carey, showing how he invests in Irish creatives in every stage of his artistry.
Rowe also co-wrote his debut single “Hey Ma” with Iain Archer. A writer, producer, and singer-songwriter from Northern Ireland, Archer won an Ivor Novello Award twice and co-wrote the Grammy-nominated song “Hold Back the River” with James Bay.
Having Archer by his side pushed Rowe to dig deeper into his emotions and his stories. “I was a bit hesitant to write about specific people and mention specific places as it just felt weird initially,” he wrote on Instagram. “But Iain wouldn’t have any of it and said we had to leave it all in haha!
Free Palestine, Now & Forever
“As Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation,” Rowe emphasized in his post announcing his decision to withdraw from the “Loop” tour. In the same statement, he brings attention to the billionaires who “use their position of power to silence the rightful voices” — namely, those who speak up about Israel’s genocide.
Rowe again draws parallels between Palestine and Ireland: “I need to be true to myself and my ancestors who resisted colonisation, and fought for freedom that I enjoy today in Ireland.”
Ed Sheeran’s other opening acts — FINNEAS, Lukas Graham, and Beoga, later followed Macklemore and Rowe in dropping out of the tour.
Keep up with Aaron Rowe on his website, Instagram, and YouTube. Listen to his new single, “Forever Now,” on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
Want more new music to add to your playlist? Check out our Sunday Spin playlists, curated just for you by Team EnVi!
