Ed Harcourt, born on August 14, 1977, is a British singer-songwriter from Lewes, East Sussex who has so far released four critically acclaimed albums and has a relatively small but very enthusiastic fanbase. His first instrument is the piano, but he also uses several less common keyboard instruments as well as the guitar. Live he is accompanied by a band typically comprising a drummer, guitarist, violinist and trumpeter. His work is sometimes reminiscent of Tom Waits but still entirely his own, varied and passionate style.

Besides being a headliner himself, he has also played support for a lot of artists over the years, like REM, Wilco and Neil Finn. Before he went solo, he played the bass and keyboards in a band called Snug.