This artist’s story sounds like a film script. Ignas Pociūnas spent eight years in the USA, doing odd jobs, and strumming on his guitar on quiet evenings. Several years ago, he came back to Lithuania, married, settled down, and started working in real estate. His wife gave him an interesting Christmas present: knowing his passion for music, she booked a couple of hours in a local recording studio, so that her husband could have some fun. He recorded one of his songs (amateurish, he thought). The producer at the studio found Ignas’ voice and songwriting interesting. So they decided to send the tune to some radio stations, just for a laugh. They simply needed to come up with a name. Ignas proposed ‘Daddy was a Milkman’, because he has two children and used to work as a milkman in America. Several months later, the song Breathe In became an unexpected hit both in Lithuania and Latvia. The beautiful, melancholic vocals, meaningful lyrics, and light electronic sounds immediately struck a chord with local audiences. Important players in the music business took note: he’s now managed by Live Nation, one of the biggest concert promoters in the world.

At the age of 36, Daddy was a Milkman suddenly became a pop star that everyone talks about. His debut album Daydreaming, released in 2016, won new followers: having shared the stage with the likes of Royksopp and John Newman, this singer now draws thousands of fans to his solo gigs. In early 2017, Daddy was a Milkman won two MAMA awards (the most important sign of recognition in Lithuania): in the Best Electronic Artist and Breakthrough of the Year categories. He rounded off the year playing a sold-out concert at one of Vilnius’ biggest venues. Arguably the Lithuanian music scene’s biggest discovery of the last few years, Daddy was a Milkman plans to release his second album in 2018, and there is talk of gigs in several European countries.