William Prince (born 1986) is a Canadian

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

singer-songwriter based in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

."'An unreal feeling': Peguis musician William Prince nominated for 2 Juno Awards"
CBC Indigenous, February 7, 2017.

Life and career

A direct descendant of

Chief Peguis Peguis (ca. 1774 – 28 September 1864) was a Saulteaux chief, who moved from the Great Lakes area to Red Lake (now in Minnesota), then arriving in what is now southern Manitoba in the 1790s.Donna G. Sutherland, ''Peguis: A Noble Friend'', Chi ...

, Prince was born in Selkirk,

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

in 1986, and moved with his family to

Peguis First Nation Peguis First Nation (formerly St. Peter's Band, oj, Oshki-ishkonigan meaning ''new reserve'') is the largest First Nations community in Manitoba, Canada, with a population of approximately 10,300 people (3,521 on reserve and 6,504 off reserve). ...

as a boy. Prince's father was also a musician and preacher, who recorded a number of albums, and Prince travelled with his father playing gigs in northern Manitoba. Prince released his solo debut album, ''Earthly Days'', on December 11, 2015. The song "Breathless" reached #22 on the '' Billboard'' Adult Contemporary charts in 2018. Prince's sophomore album, ''Reliever'', was released on February 7, 2020. In October 2020 Prince released his third studio album, an album of country

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

songs called ''Gospel First Nation''. Prince also performed alongside Vince Fontaine and

Don Amero Donald Amero (born September 11, 1980) is a Canadian country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example ...

in the band

Indian City Indian City is a Canadian folk-rock musical group best known for their 2017 Juno Award–nominated album ''Here & Now''. Originally formed as a side project by Vince Fontaine of the band Eagle & Hawk, Indian City is a rotating collective of musici ...

. His fourth album, ''Stand in the Joy'', is slated for release April 14, 2023 on

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 ...

. It was preceded in February by the preview tracks "When You Miss Someone" and "Tanqueray".

Awards and accolades

Prince won the

Western Canadian Music Award The ''Western Canadian Music Awards'' (WCMAs) are an annual awards event for music in the western portion of Canada. The awards are provided by the Western Canada Music Alliance, which consists of six member music industry organizations from Br ...

for Aboriginal Artist of the Year in 2016. He received a

Canadian Folk Music Award The Canadian Folk Music Awards are an annual music awards ceremony presenting awards in a variety of categories for achievements in both traditional and contemporary folk music, and other roots music genres, by Canadian musicians. The awards progr ...

nomination for Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year at the

12th Canadian Folk Music Awards The 12th Canadian Folk Music Awards were presented in Toronto, Ontario on December 3, 2016.

. Prince won the Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2017 The Juno Awards of 2017, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented in Ottawa, Ontario the weekend of 1–2 April 2017. The ceremonies were held at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata and televised on CTV with Bryan Adams and Russell ...

for his debut album ''Earthly Days'' and was a finalist for the Roots Album of the Year and Indigenous Music Album of the Year. His song "The Spark" won the 2020

SOCAN Songwriting Prize The SOCAN Songwriting Prize, formerly known as the ECHO Songwriting Prize, is an annual competition recognizing the best in Canadian emerging music, both anglophone and francophone. Established in 2006, the competition was designed to recognize so ...

. His 2020 album ''Reliever'' received a nomination for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2021 The Juno Awards of 2021, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented on 6 June 2021, observing the 50th anniversary of these awards. The main ceremonies were televised on CBC. The ceremony was originally scheduled to take place in Ma ...

. He won two

Canadian Folk Music Awards The Canadian Folk Music Awards are an annual music awards ceremony presenting awards in a variety of categories for achievements in both traditional and contemporary folk music, and other roots music genres, by Canadian musicians. The awards progr ...

at the

16th Canadian Folk Music Awards The 16th Canadian Folk Music Awards were presented on April 9 and 10, 2021, to honour achievements in folk music by Canadian artists in 2020.Serena Ryder Serena most commonly refers to: * Serena Williams (born 1981), professional tennis player Serena may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Serena (genre), 13th-century Occitan poetic genre * ''Serena'' (1962 film), a British crime t ...

performed "The Spark" at Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity. In 2022, Prince and Ryder also released the standalone single "Sing Me a Song". In 2022 he appeared at the

Buffy Sainte-Marie Buffy Sainte-Marie, (born Beverly Sainte-Marie, February 20, 1941) is an Indigenous Canadian-American ( Piapot Cree Nation) singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. While working in these ...

tribute concert '' Buffy Sainte-Marie: Starwalker'', performing both "

Up Where We Belong "Up Where We Belong" is a song written by Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Will Jennings that was recorded by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes for the 1982 film '' An Officer and a Gentleman''. Warnes was recommended to sing a song from the f ...

" as a duet with

Marie-Mai Marie-Mai (born Marie-Mai Bouchard on July 7, 1984, in Varennes, Quebec) is a Canadian singer from Quebec. She was initially known as one of the finalists of the first season of the Quebec reality show '' Star Académie''. Background Marie-M ...

and "

Now That the Buffalo's Gone "Now That the Buffalo's Gone" is the first song from the 1964 album ''It's My Way!'' by Canadian First Nations singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. The song's title refers to the near-extinction of the American bison and serves as a metaphor for ...

" with the surviving members of

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

.Garret K. Woodward
"The Tragically Hip’s Surviving Members Reunite to Pay Tribute to a Canadian Icon, Tease New Projects"
''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', September 30, 2022.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Earthly Days'' (2015) * ''Reliever'' (2020) * ''Gospel First Nation'' (2020) * ''Stand in the Joy'' (2023)

Singles

* "7" (2016) * "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover" (2018) * "Breathless (Acoustic)" (2018) * "The Spark" (2019) * "Always Have What We Had" (2020)

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prince, William 1986 births Living people 21st-century First Nations people 21st-century Canadian male singers Canadian country singer-songwriters Canadian folk singer-songwriters Canadian male singer-songwriters First Nations musicians Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year winners Musicians from Manitoba People from Selkirk, Manitoba Oji-Cree people Glassnote Records artists Canadian Folk Music Award winners