Mitch Rowland | |
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Birth name | Mitchell Kristopher Rowland |
Born | July 13, 1989 (age 34) |
Origin | Dublin, Ohio |
Genres | Pop, indie rock, alternative rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter |
Instrument(s) |
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Years active | 2014–present |
Formerly of | Harry Styles |
Mitchell Kristopher Rowland is an American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as a touring guitarist and for co-writing songs on all three of Harry Styles's solo albums. " Watermelon Sugar", a song he co-wrote with Styles, Tyler Johnson, and Thomas Hull, was nominated for and won Best Pop Solo Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2021. [1] Rowland, along with Styles, Johnson, and Hull, also won the Brit Award for Song of the Year for "Watermelon Sugar" at the 2021 Brit Awards. [2]
Rowland grew up 15 miles outside of Columbus, Ohio in the city of Dublin, Ohio. [3] He played in the jazz band at Dublin Coffman High School. [3] After attending college at the University of Cincinnati, [4] he played drums for the indie rock band Lionel the Jailbird. [5] After leaving Lionel the Jailbird, he played in the band Total Navajo with audio engineer Ryan Nasci. [6] [7]
Ryan Nasci was the audio engineer on tracks for the album that would become Harry Styles when a session guitarist dropped out last-minute. [7] He contacted Rowland, who he was also rooming with at the time, about whether or not he would be interested in the gig. [7] According to Styles, Rowland had never been in a studio before. [8] Rowland ultimately co-wrote and played guitar and percussion for nine songs on Harry Styles, including Styles's debut single, " Sign of the Times", [9] which debuted at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. [10] After the album's release, he accompanied Styles as lead guitarist in his band for Harry Styles: Live on Tour. [11] According to Styles's then-music director and producer Thomas Hull, Rowland had "never toured like [that] before" so he was having to "learn on the road." [11] In September 2017, Rowland, Styles, and producers Tyler Johnson and Thomas Hull (also known as Kid Harpoon), recorded "Watermelon Sugar" in Nashville on a day off from Live on Tour. [12]
Following Live on Tour, Rowland co-wrote five additional songs on Styles's second album, Fine Line, including the single " Golden", [13] which eventually peaked at number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100. [14] He also did session work for the album on electric guitar, drums, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, and background vocals. [13] Rowland's guitar solo in the song "She", which was (according to Styles) written while they were both under the influence of psychedelic mushrooms, [15] has been praised by Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone as "a cosmic guitar voyage". [16] Fine Line was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards, [17] and for Best Pop Vocal Album [18] at the 2021 Grammy Awards. "Watermelon Sugar" received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance [1] and a Brit Award for British Single of the Year. [2] In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked Fine Line number 491 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, making it the most recent album to be included. [19] All three songs mentioned in the Rolling Stone list as album highlights were co-written by Rowland. [19]
Harry Styles: Love on Tour was initially supposed to start April 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [20] Styles stayed with Rowland and his wife, Sarah Jones, during parts of the pandemic. [21] Before tour started again, Styles and Rowland co-wrote " Music for a Sushi Restaurant" and "Keep Driving" together. [22] [23] Rowland also co-wrote two songs on Cam's 2020 album The Otherside: "Forgetting You" [24] and "Happier for You". [25] He also did session work on the album, playing drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and mallets. [26] When Love on Tour started again in 2021, Rowland played guitar. [27] In January 2021, Rowland appeared as himself in Styles's music video for the song " Treat People With Kindness". [28] Styles's third album, Harry's House, released on May 20, 2022. [29] In addition to his writing credits on the album, Rowland also did session work playing guitar, bass, percussion, and drums. [23] "Music for a Sushi Restaurant" debuted at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Rowland's third top-ten hit as a songwriter. [30]
On July 20, 2023 it was announced that Mitch Rowland's debut album Come June [31] will be released October 6, 2023 via Giant Records / Erskine Records. [32] This will be the first record released on the Erskine Records imprint from an act other than Harry Styles. [33] First single of the same name, "Come June" premiered with accompanying sun soaked video. [34] Second single "Bluebells", was written "after finding out my wife and I were having a baby," Rowland says. [35]
Rowland's is married to English drummer Sarah Jones. [36] Jones and Rowland met while rehearsing for Harry Styles: Live on Tour together. [37] They have one child, Scout Mitchell Rowland-Jones, born in March 2021. [36] [38] Rowland and Jones reside in London. [38]
Year | Artist | Album | Notes |
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2014 | Total Navajo | Eyelids EP | Co-Writer |
2017 | Harry Styles | Harry Styles | Co-Writer |
2019 | Harry Styles | Fine Line | Co-Writer |
2020 | Cam | The Otherside | Co-Writer |
2022 | Harry Styles | Harry's House | Co-Writer |
2023 | Mitch Rowland | Come June |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2017 | Harry Styles: Behind the Album | Himself | Documentary |