William Prince pairs spiritual grounding, timeless soul on 'Stand In The Joy'

Winnipeg native William Prince is a Juno and Western Canadian Music Award-winning singer-songwriter who, in the past decade, has emerged as a folk and roots-to-country-crossover star on the rise.

In the past six months, he's also debuted on the Grand Ole Opry and has finished "Stand In The Joy" (out April 14 from Six Shooter Records) his fourth studio album. Finishing that project took him -- for the second consecutive release -- to Savannah, Georgia and super-producer Dave Cobb's hometown studio.

Grammy-winner Cobb's "foresight, direction and vast knowledge of musical and studio references" are -- alongside what a press release refers to as Prince's "steadying, timeless appeal" -- placing the artist on the cusp of a breakout moment.

"I'm excited about playing, singing and writing about representing the best, happiest side of me. That's finally the greatest part of myself."

On Prince's latest, Cobb's love of the sound of albums released in the 1970s by Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson blends well with Prince's soulful, introspective tenor, which most often receives comparisons to another Canadian native, Leonard Cohen, or as well to Nelson.

"Emerging from a decade of the grief and pain of a lifestyle based around survival, to now finding joy in the life that I'm currently living -- plus the love for my son and wife-to-be -- has offered me purpose, which connects me to the ideal audience for this album," says Prince to The Tennessean.

He notes that he has suffered through homelessness and poverty, grieved his father's death and welcomed his son's birth in the past ten years.

"This album celebrates the ability to choose happiness over anxiety and depression and make life easier for those I love.

Prince's intentionality has long been a hallmark of his creativity in the light of such a tumultuous journey.

His 2015-released debut album, "Earthly Days," featured the track "7," which found the indigenous Peguis First Nation son of a preacher and DJ invoking the influence of the Seven Grandfather Teachings from the Anishinaabe (First Nations) people. The teachings focus on the importance of love, respect, honesty, courage/bravery, truth, wisdom and humility in our relationship with every living thing.

"I feel much easier to be defined by how I live my life than by any success I'm achieving," Prince says. "But yes, having defined principles as boundaries to help me understand what is -- or is not -- meant for me has allowed me the peace in my life that has afforded me the ability to use music to create a successful career and life."

Being a principled family man driven by creating music uniquely connecting to people at their root humanity connects Prince to another inspiration: Johnny Cash.

Finding similarities between Cash's redemptive work between 1968-1972 (keyed by his rediscovery of his Christian faith and sobriety) and how songs like "When You Miss Someone" and "Goldie Hawn" ("She's a movie you leave on / Cactus Flower, Goldie Hawn / Mercy in the way she talks / Easy answers, sweet surrender / Feels like the sweet surrender of love") celebrate him in "the therapeutic act of actively pursuing happiness."

Similar to "Goldie Hawn," "Tanqueray" emerged for Prince as a song that grew from an attempt to craft a song with a unique sounding multi-syllabic term for London dry gin to comparing the first few drinks of a night on the town to what he describes as the "beauty of the hazy drunk-like state of getting to know someone over the first few dates."

The need to fit over-sharing into seemingly all-too-brief moments shared between Prince and his now fiancé in their 1300-mile long-distance courtship between Winnipeg and her home in Calgary -- two provinces over from Manitoba, in Alberta -- also spurred the inspiration for the song.

"Two lovers sharing an unbelievably perfect night -- with the right food, drink and guests -- that's the type of memorable [expression that song conjures]."

Five decades have elapsed since the last era in which Indigenous and Native American acts have achieved significant global pop renown. For Prince, awareness of Los Angeles-based Shoshone and Yaqui-related rock band Redbone (1973 Top-5 US single "Come and Get Your Love"), plus Piapot Cree Nation-descended and Saskatchewan-borne Buffy Sainte-Marie (1972's Top 40 US hit "Mister Can't You See") are "beacons and pillars" who highlight the scope of appeal and reach he desires for his work.

"I wish I was born when they were making music," Prince jokes.

His work with Saint Marie includes opening numerous shows for her, plus a 2022 appearance at her "Buffy Sainte-Marie: Starwalker" tribute concert. He cites her "courageous trail-blazing journey" alongside other Indigenous Canadian acts like C-Weed, fellow Winnipeg natives Eagle and Hawk, Crystal Shawanda and the recently deceased Shane Yellowbird as First Nations artists whose "inspiration developed [his] ability and confidence."

As for Redbone, "Come and Get Your Love" being a song that people recognize from its opening drum snare is something he's hopeful to accomplish whenever he's in a studio.

Live, developing his body of work into an "urgent, energetic [sound] that moves and sways [his audience]" while still "occasionally silencing them deep in thought" with his lyrics are some of what Prince views as the strengths of his art at present.

"I have evolved from not knowing if I had a place in the world of music to where the reception to my music is growing. Growing from uncertainty to where I am right now? I've just enjoyed the ride getting here."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: William Prince pairs spiritual grounding, timeless soul on 'Stand In The Joy'