William Prince

Early Days

William Prince was born in Selkirk, Manitoba in 1986. His father, Edward, moved the family to Peguis First Nation, nearly 200 km north of Winnipeg. At that point, Prince knew little of his First Nation’s history or culture but learned quickly, including that he is a descendant of Chief Peguis. He is also related to war hero Tommy Prince.

Prince was introduced to music by his father, who recorded numerous albums, played guitar and was a disc jockey. His father and grandfathers were pastors who introduced Prince to gospel music. His grandfathers were some of the founding ministers of the church in Peguis. As a teenager, Prince’s guitar style and baritone voice reflected the influences of country music legends Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard. His father recorded three albums and they performed together in churches and community halls, selling CDs after their shows.

Prince moved to Winnipeg, where he was enrolled as a pre-med student at the University of Manitoba. For ten years, he honed his craft as a solo act and with the folk-rock band Indian City. He also recorded with a band called A New Honour. During this time, he won the Manitoba Aboriginal Youth Achievement Award for Artistic Performance.

Earthly Days

In 2015, William Prince recorded his debut album, Earthly Days. It contained 11 original folk-country songs tinged with a gospel sensitivity. The album’s success led to Prince winning the 2016 Western Canadian Music Award as Aboriginal Artist of the Year.

In 2017, Earthly Days was nominated for a Juno award for Indigenous Album of the Year, and it won for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year. On the Juno’s nationally broadcast program, Prince performed a moving solo rendition of a song from the album entitled “Breathless”. Prince said of his national recognition, “[With all the] time away from my family and those I love, this is exactly what I was hoping to show them that I was working towards."

In 2018, Prince re-recorded “Breathless” with a new producer and the album was re-released in Canada by Six Shooter Records and in the United States by Glassnote Records.

International Acclaim

The success of Earthly Days and “Breathless” led to television and radio appearances and concert tours throughout Canada, the US, the United Kingdom and Germany. In February 2020, William Prince released his second album: Reliever. He had experienced the death of his father, birth of his son and separation from his partner. The album’s introspective songs reflected his dealing with love, loss and family.

Reliever earned many positive reviews. Prince wrote in the album’s liner notes, “These songs were born in a time of great challenge. Where these songs sound hopeless, let them be a testament to resilience.” The COVID-19 pandemic occurred weeks after the album’s release, resulting in Prince having to cancel an international tour.

In October that year, Prince released the album Gospel First Nation, his third collaboration with producer Scott Nolan. Recorded in Winnipeg, the album is a combination of original songs written by both Prince and his father, a song written by First Nations composer Bob Norman and traditional gospel tunes that speak to the complex relationship between First Nations peoples and Christianity. Prince acknowledged that complexity in the liner notes, writing, “With regard to First Nations communities, gospel music and Christianity are stigmatic as a tool of colonization and assimilation.”

Prince began a two-season podcast entitled Sunday Verse. Each episode addressed his music and life and issues of concern to First Nations peoples and Canadians such as the power of words, identity and history.

In February 2023, Prince performed two songs at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. On stage he said, “I’m feeling absolutely privileged and overwhelmed, all those beautiful things, to be a representative of the First Nations people of Canada and I’m so proud to be here.”

Two months later, Prince released his fourth album, Stand In the Joy. Recorded in Savannah, Georgia, the album’s ten songs dealt with gratitude, wonder and humility. It offered collaborations with respected Canadian artists Serena Ryder and The Tragically Hip.

Prince surprised fans by transforming the 1999 Backstreet Boys pop song, “I Want It That Way” into a contemplative ballad. It was released as a Spotify single along with a re-recorded, up-tempo version of his song “Young”. Prince then set out on a two-month tour of theatres in Europe, the United Kingdom, the US and Canada.

When invited to participate in the OurVinyl Sessions in 2023, Prince travelled to Nashville and recorded four songs, three from Stand in the Joy and one from Earthly Days, including “Goldie Hawn”. He explained, “[Goldie Hawn] is about surrendering to the love of a woman, and seeing within her the beauty, talent, and grace of all great women.”

His growing popularity and the respect for his talent was demonstrated by his winning several more music industry awards. At the 2024 Junos, Stand In the Joy won Contemporary Roots Album of the Year and Prince was nominated for Songwriter of the Year. On the Juno’s national broadcast, Prince presented the Breakthrough Artist of the Year award with Canada’s Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pascale St-Onge. In a church setting, he and Ryder performed “The Spark,” the song for which he won the 2020 English SOCAN Songwriting Prize.

Two weeks later, at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, held in St. John’s, Prince won Solo Artist of the Year, Single of the Year for “When You Miss Someone”, and Stand In the Joy won Contemporary Album of the Year.

The 2024 Western Canadian Music Alliance awards will be announced in September. Prince has been nominated for BreakOut Artist of the Year, Recording of the Year, Roots Artist of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year.

Future

William Prince has stated he plans to write more music and bring it to more people around the world. He has said, "Being immersed in this right now, taking in all these sites and the ever-changing landscape of my life, presents me an opportunity every day to stay engaged with my humility."