Willy Mason (born 21 November 1984) is an American singer-songwriter. He is the son of Jemima James and Michael Mason, both folk singers who, according to Mason, have influenced his music. When Mason was five, he and his family moved from New York to West Tisbury, Massachusetts on the island of Martha's Vineyard. He attended West Tisbury Elementary School and Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, where he participated in several local bands such as Keep Thinking, Cultivation, and Slow Leslie. He later moved to New York City, playing mostly at open mic nights and small venues.
Mason's popularity rose after musician Conor Oberst discovered his music backstage at a Bright Eyes show. Oberst would soon sign Mason to his new record label, Team Love and release his debut LP. Since then, he has toured with the likes of Radiohead, Death Cab For Cutie, Ben Kweller, and Unbusted, and played such venues as the Glastonbury Festival, South By Southwest, and the Offshore Ale House.
Mason's debut album Where The Humans Eat, and singles (Oxygen and So Long), charted in the UK Singles Chart and Albums Chart in 2005. Mason went on to release The Ocean Gets Rough in 2007.
Willy’s new album, 'Carry On', was recorded over the course of 2011 in south London with producer Dan Carey (MIA, Hot Chip, Franz Ferdinand) and is released in December 2012.
“The album itself is about growing up and trying to find one’s place” Mason says. “I think of this record as the third and final chapter to a particular narrative that started with ‘Where the Humans Eat’”.