''Stand in the Joy'' is the fourth studio album from Canadian singer-songwriter William Prince. The album was produced by Dave Cobb and recorded at Cobb's studio in Savannah, Georgia, in May 2022 and released by

Six Shooter Records Six Shooter Records is an independent record label based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that uses an artist-centric business model, focusing on art before commerce combined with extensive touring. Six Shooter Records was founded in 2000 by Shauna d ...

. The album was described by Prince as a declaration of "love, peace and strength" and a departure from the singer's more solemn previous albums. The album was preceded in February 2023 by Prince performing at the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, Tennessee, his first time playing the legendary venue.

Music and composition

William Prince is listed as the sole songwriter for the entire album, in keeping with his previous albums. In an interview with Nashville's WSMV-TV, Prince said the album was an "opportunity" to explore joy. "It’s just about acknowledging the good in your life, the people that bring that good, the love that surrounds you, and standing in what you have rather than sitting in what we may have lost over time," Prince said.

Critical reception

The album was received positively, with high album review scores from

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

and Saving Country Music. AP News complimented Prince's "disarmingly warm, gentle delivery" and Folk Alley said that the new songs "refresh, restore, and rejuvenate." The album won the

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2024, and Prince was nominated for Songwriter of the Year for the songs "Broken Heart of Mine", "Easier and Harder" and "When You Miss Someone". At the 19th Canadian Folk Music Awards, Prince won Solo Artist of the Year and the album won

Contemporary Album of the Year Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it i ...

. The album was nominated for Alternative Country Album of the Year at the 2024 Canadian Country Music Awards.

Track listing

# When You Miss Someone # Only Thing We Need # Tanqueray # Young # Broken Heart of Mine # Pasadena # Goldie Hawn # Easier and Harder # Peace of Mind # Take a Look Around

References

{{Authority control 2023 albums William Prince albums Six Shooter Records albums Albums produced by Dave Cobb Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year albums