Croatian singer-songwriter J.R. August is the leading young talent in the Balkans whose debut album Dangerous Waters is nominated for the 2020 IMPALA European Independent Album of the Year Award. A storyteller as much as a singer, piano player and composer, J.R. August mixes folk, gospel, pop, blues and a range of influences to create a world that revolves around nature, rivers, forests and unique characters that he vividly paints in his songs with the help of his band and choir. After a string of successful EPs, in October 2019 he published his debut album Dangerous Waters under Croatia Records, the leading publisher in the region. The album was met with universal acclaim by the critics, who hailed J.R. August as a world-class talent. It became the best-selling album in Croatia in the week after its release – the first time in history for a domestic artist singing in English. Dangerous Waters topped most of the critics’ lists as the best Croatian album of 2019. Besides being nominated for the IMPALA, both the album and J.R. August received several national awards, including the Rock&Off Album of the Year Award given by the most prominent Croatian critics and music journalists. J.R. August also holds the distinction of receiving the joint highest number of the 2020 Porin Award (Croatia's national music award), winning in all major categories: Album of the Year, Best Alternative Album and Breakthrough Artist.
