Bonnie Prince Billy | Artist
Will Oldham aka Bonnie 'Prince' Billy is an American singer-songwriter and actor born 1970 in Louisville, Kentucky. He releases work under various names including Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, Palace Music, Will Oldham and Bonnie Prince Billy. He also collaborates with artists including Matt Sweeney, Dawn McCarthy, The Cairo Gang and Trembling Bells. His work has been described as "Appalachian Post-Punk", drawing in elements of Americana, folk, roots, country, punk and indie rock. Starting out, Oldham attended Brown University sporadically while pursuing a career as an actor, and living between Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Southern Indiana. He began making music during this time, initially as a project for his ethnomusicology professor at Brown University. As a recording artist Oldham has released 28 studio albums to-date, including solo and collaborative works. Many critics regard his debut album, the superb I See a Darkness, as his best work to-date. In fact no Lesser artist than Johnny Cash liked the title song so much he recorded a version of it on his American Recordings release, American III: Solitary Man (2000). Other outstanding albums include Ease Down The Road, Master and Everyone and The Letting Go. Also highly recommended are the two collaborations with Matt Sweeney: Superwolf (2005) and Superwolves (2021). Among his other talents, Oldham has provided voice work and acted in a number of films including, the teen preacher in John Sayles's movie Matewan (1987), the role of Chip McClure in Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure (1989), and the role of Miles in the film Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991). He is also an accomplished photographer, including the black-and-white cover photograph of Slint's album Spiderland, showing the band members treading water in the lake of an abandoned quarry.
Artist Website: royalstablemusic.com
Featured Albums: Bonnie Prince Billy
Related Artists: Will Oldham, Dawn McCarthy, Silver Jews, Palace Brothers, Palace Music, Matt Sweeney
Video Clips: I See A Darkness, Live on Late Night TV, Night Noises
