Henry Morris Talks Performing, His Career and More Following His Debut Sold Out Show in L.A.
Fans were in for a treat on Feb. 6, 2025, as Henry Morris performed his first live show. Henry brought his talents to the intimate Los Angeles venue, The Echo, for one truly unforgettable evening of music.
His stage presence and connection with the crowd were a highlight of the night His live vocals were also very impressive. Singing while playing guitar is already hard enough, but Henry made it look effortless. Based on his confidence and skill, you'd never be able to tell is was his first-ever live show.
By far, our favorite part of the performance was when he did acoustic versions of beloved songs including "Paradise." These stripped-down takes made us feel his emotion and passion for his music even more deeply. His songwriting ability and powerful stories behind certain songs were also heavily highlighted throughout the night.
Henry is a true talent and someone who we hope to see create much more art in the future. Before the show, we had a chance to chat with Henry about his music and performance. Read on to see what the songster had to say about his blossoming career in the interview below.
(Photo credit: Maddy Myer)
Sweety High: Who are your primary musical influences, and how have they shaped your style?
Henry Morris: Definitely Chris Isaac, and this does not come through in my music at all, really, but Aretha Franklin. Ricky Nelson, as well. Also, Lana Del Rey, but more so aesthetically. And then The Neighborhood, for sure, I really like them.
SH: How do you think your personal experiences and challenges help shape your music, and in what ways do you hope listeners connect with your work?
HM: I don't think I've written one positive song. I'm more so putting these songs out and looking for connection from other people, instead of trying to give that to somebody. My whole life, I've been looking for something solid socially that makes sense to me. At a certain point, I started to try to make it myself. Anybody who finds a little piece of themselves in the song, thank God, because that does it better than I could ever do in real life talking to somebody. I wish I had a better answer for the meaning behind everything, but I just make songs, and sometimes, you have people who still relate to them. Some of those feelings are really human, even though they can be terrible things to say or do.
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SH: Your lyrics are known for their depth and vulnerability. How do you approach songwriting?
HM: I usually always start with the beat, and I get that from being a producer, too. I worked with this artist, Saint Levant, who made me really understand that I can do whatever I want to do musically. I'll start with the drums and then the chords. If the chords don't have the right emotion in them, there's no way it'll be a good song for me. The songwriting process sucks until you're done, and then it's the most euphoric feeling ever. You feel like, "This line doesn't hit my brain the way I want it to in a lyric." You just sit there, and you mull it over until you are tired of it, or you get something good, and you do that for however long it takes. I feel like if you start writing a song and you don't finish it in that sitting, you'll never get that feeling again. If it's good, and at the right moment, you should finish it, in my opinion.
SH: With this being your first show, how do you plan to translate the themes of your music to the stage?
HM: Definitely starting with all this stuff on stage. My bassist, Cole's, dad is a production designer. We went to this huge warehouse and picked out certain pieces. This was right before David Lynch died, and I wanted it to look like Blue Velvet, or like Twin Peaks. There's this flower lamp and a bar cart. I want to have fans who really care about the music notice small details. There's a thing of jawbreakers right there for the album. I can't wait until I have enough money to make the whole room look like this. I feel like every little furniture piece helps. Also, we finally have the merch. After doing a bunch of other shows with different bands and stuff, and this being my first solo show, I realized that if you just go up and try to tell the truth about what the song is, no one cares if you hit the No. 1. So I'm just really gonna think about what the song's about and hope it translates to the audience.
SH: Who are some dream collaborations?
HM: Lana Del Rey. I really want to do a song with Chris Isaac, Smashing Pumpkins. Oh, my God, that'd be fun. Van Morrison, as well. I would love to do a song with Isabel LaRosa, one day. Stevie Nicks would be cool, too. I would really like to collaborate primarily with a female artist because I like the way the vocals layer. I just love the texture of a soprano female vocal and then a lower baritone. The male vocal sounds so sweet. Oh, and also Cigarettes After Sex. They've never done a collab before, though.
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SH: With this being your first show, are there any specific areas or dream venues that you have in mind for the future?
HM: I've always been really scared of live performing, so this is enough, to be honest. I love doing live when I'm playing with somebody, where it's not the spotlight is on me, to be honest. But we'll see how this goes.
SH: As you're working on new music, what are some other goals or projects you have in mind for this new year?
HM: I definitely want to make music videos. I haven't done it before, and we're filming one for "Venice Beach" in a few days. I hope it translates. We're gonna try to have it look like it's at the beach. And then I really want to play a festival. Because I played Coachella with Saint Levant, that was crazy to see that many people knew the words to a song. It was definitely very scary. As for other goals, I've had this short film based on Jawbreaker, the album I've been wanting to do. When we're ready, that will be coming out for sure.
SH: Anything you want to say to your fans who have been here for your journey?
HM: I spent so long in my shell thinking that me putting out music would have, zero effect on anybody or anything. Now that I have, I want to say it's okay to want energy back from putting out art. You don't need it to be this selfless thing; you can want a response. And two, the world's just a better place with your art in it, no matter what, even if your art is f*cked up and you're too afraid to release it. That's even better. If you want to make art, you should even try to make it about sh*t that you don't want to say in a normal conversation. I think it is because it's more interesting, but then, at the same time, it could also be goofy. If you like to make music, because a lot of people hit me up and say, I wish I could f*cking do it all the time. Yeah, the only way you're gonna do it is by really trying. When you're a kid, you're thinking; there's no I'm ever gonna do that sh*t. And you just, slowly, you did it.
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SH: Anything else you want to add that we haven't talked about yet?
HM: I want people to know that everything that I'm about to do is flying by the seat of my pants. I don't know what's gonna happen next. I'm just gonna wake up every day and make music and try to do it right.
Henry left a great impression at his first show. We're excited to see what's next for him and to continue supporting his career. Let's hope we'll get a few of his dream collaborations in the future and more music soon. In the meantime, check out Henry's music and follow him @henrymorrisxoxo.
For more on what's going on in music, click HERE to read our interview with Morgan Saint on her debut album, Out of the Blue.