William Prince (photo by Danny Shumov)
Peguis First Nation singer-songwriter William Prince blessed us with three songs from his current record, Stand in the Joy (ND review), during this year’s No Depression Sessions at AmericanaFest, filmed at Jaan’s House in Nashville.
Prince delivered all three songs in his beautifully resonant tenor, starting with “Tanqueray,” an ode to the early stages of love and their similarity to the first few drinks of the night. Second up was his John Prine-inspired “Easier and Harder,” and finally “Peace of Mind.”
I saw him open for The War and Treaty at Bowery Ballroom in New York City earlier this year, shortly after Gordon Lightfoot passed. Prince did such a spellbinding rendition of “Sundown” that I put Lightfoot’s original recording in heavy rotation at my house and haven’t stopped listening since. Prince’s interpretation stuck with me enough that I felt compelled to design and print the “Sundown” lyric T-shirt I wore while hosting this ND Session. When an artist articulates emotion so clearly that I can’t help but make a T-shirt about it, they’re doing it right.
Look for more No Depression Sessions at AmericanaFest in the coming weeks.
