William Prince (born 1986) is a Canadian folk and country singer-songwriter based in Winnipeg, Manitoba."'An unreal feeling': Peguis musician William Prince nominated for 2 Juno Awards". CBC Indigenous, February 7, 2017.
Life and career Prince was born in Selkirk, Manitoba, in 1986. He moved with his family to Peguis First Nation as a boy."William Prince grew up sleeping under the DJ table in community halls". Unreserved, July 3, 2016. Prince is a direct descendant of Peguis, a prominent First Nations leader in the 1800s.
Prince's father, Edward, 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 No. 22 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts in 2018. Prince's second album, Reliever, was released on February 7, 2020. In October 2020, Prince released his third studio album, an album of country gospel songs called Gospel First Nation. The album included a mixture of new original songs, songs written by his father, and traditional gospel songs.
Prince also performed alongside Vince Fontaine and Don Amero in the band Indian City."Winnipeg band Indian City to play Ottawa on Canada Day". CBC News, May 27, 2016.
In 2022, he appeared at the Buffy Sainte-Marie tribute concert Buffy Sainte-Marie: Starwalker, performing both "Up Where We Belong" as a duet with Marie-Mai and "Now That the Buffalo's Gone" with the surviving members of The Tragically Hip.Garret K. Woodward, "The Tragically Hip’s Surviving Members Reunite to Pay Tribute to a Canadian Icon, Tease New Projects". Rolling Stone, September 30, 2022. On February 18, 2023, he played at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, to great acclaim.Abimbola Oduniyi, "Peguis First Nation's William Prince to take centre stage at storied Grand Ole Opry". CBC News Manitoba, February 11, 2023.
His fourth album, Stand in the Joy, was released on April 14, 2023, on Six Shooter Records.Alex Hudson, "William Prince Announces New Album 'Stand in the Joy'". Exclaim!, February 1, 2023. It was preceded in February by the preview tracks "When You Miss Someone" and "Tanqueray".
Ahead of the scheduled release of his fifth album, Further from the Country, in October 2025, Prince was the support act for Midland on their UK tour.Allie Gregory, "William Prince Announces New Album 'Further from the Country'". Exclaim!, July 9, 2025.
On June 12, 2026, Prince performed at the second opening ceremony of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Toronto, Canada.
Awards and accolades Prince won the Western Canadian Music Award for Aboriginal Artist of the Year in 2016."Western Canadian Music Awards Announce 2016 Winners". Exclaim!, October 15, 2016. He received a Canadian Folk Music Award nomination for Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year at the 12th Canadian Folk Music Awards."Canadian Folk Music Awards Announce 2016 Winners". Exclaim!, December 4, 2016. Prince won the Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2017 for his debut album, Earthly Days,"Winners List: First 34 Juno Awards handed out at Saturday gala". Toronto Star, April 1, 2017. and was a finalist for Indigenous Music Album of the Year."Juno nominations 'incredible,' local singer-songwriter says". Winnipeg Free Press, February 7, 2017.Lynn Saxberg and Peter Hum, "Gord Downie wins three Junos at music awards gala dinner Saturday night". London Free Press, April 1, 2017.
His song "The Spark" won the 2020 SOCAN Songwriting Prize.Calum Slingerland, "William Prince Wins 2020 SOCAN Songwriting Prize". Exclaim!, August 5, 2020.
His 2020 album Reliever received a nomination for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021.Holly Gordon, "The Weeknd, JP Saxe, Jessie Reyez and Justin Bieber lead 2021 Juno Award nominations". CBC Music, March 9, 2021. He won two Canadian Folk Music Awards at the 16th Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2021, for Contemporary Album of the Year and English Songwriter of the Year."Pharis & Jason Romero Head CFMA Winners List". FYI Music News, April 11, 2021.
At the 2021 Juno ceremony, Prince and Serena Ryder performed "The Spark" at Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity.Corey Atad, "Watch William Prince And Serena Ryder’s Performance At The 2021 Junos". Entertainment Tonight Canada, June 7, 2021. In 2022, Prince and Ryder also released the standalone singles "Sing Me a Song" and "River of Tears".Fish Griwkowsky, "William Prince opens up the first Folk Fest in years with his resonant country folksinging". Edmonton Journal, August 4, 2022.
Stand in the Joy won the Juno Award 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"."Junos 2024: full list of winners". CBC Music, March 23, 2024. At the 19th Canadian Folk Music Awards, he won Contemporary Album of the Year for Stand in the Joy, Solo Artist of the Year, and Single of the Year for "When You Miss Someone".Calum Slingerland, "Here are the 2024 Canadian Folk Music Awards Winners". Exclaim!, April 10, 2024. Prince's album Stand in the Joy was nominated for Alternative Country Album of the Year at the 2024 Canadian Country Music Awards.
William Prince, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Nipissing University in June 2025. This was to recognize his work for as an award-winning singer-songwriter, a proud member of Peguis First Nation, and for using his music to build understanding within all of Canada.
Discography Studio albums Earthly Days (2015) Reliever (2020) Gospel First Nation (2020) Stand in the Joy (2023) Further from the Country (2025)
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) "Sing Me a Song" (2022, with Serena Ryder) "River of Tears" (2022, with Serena Ryder) "When You Miss Someone" (2023) "Tanqueray" (2023) "Lighthearted" (2026)
References
External links Official website