Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

  • Louisville, KY
    hometown
  • Country
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  • 1993
    started
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About Bonnie 'Prince' Billy


After his stints performing as Palace, Palace Songs, Palace Brothers, and under his own name throughout the '90s, by the end of the decade Will Oldham seemed to finally settle on the Bonnie "Prince" Billy moniker as the main outlet for his work. Regardless of the name he used to release his music or the musicians supporting him, Oldham's style remained largely the same, pitting shambling and often sparse music against his creaky, world-weary voice and literate lyrics. The Louisville, Kentucky native worked as an actor during the late '80s and early '90s, starring in John Sayles' 1987 mining film Matewan and appearing in the 1989 TV movie Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure and the 1991 big-screen film Thousand Pieces of Gold.

Oldham debuted as a musician in 1992 with the Drag City single Ohio River Boat Song, which he released as Palace Songs; his debut album, There Is No-One What Will Take Care of You, arrived the following year as a Palace Brothers offering. By 1995's Viva Last Blues he was beginning to work as Palace Music, a name that stuck until 1997's Joya, which Oldham released under his own name. However, with 1998's Black Dissimulation and the following year's I See a Darkness, the Bonnie "Prince" Billy name seemed to stick, for the most part: aside from the soundtrack Ode Music and Guarapero: Lost Blues 2, the majority of Oldham's work from then on was credited to Bonnie "Prince" Billy. Ease Down the Road arrived in early 2001, featuring collaborators David Pajo, Catherine Irwin, Mike Fellows, and Harmony Korine. Master and Everyone appeared two years later. In 2004 came the release of a rather surprising project for Oldham -- Bonnie "Prince" Billy Sings Greatest Palace Music, in which his usual collaborators were joined by a band of Nashville session musicians for a set of polished re-recordings of songs from his back catalog.

Oldham's next project found him collaborating with guitarist Matt Sweeney (who had previously worked with Chavez and Zwan, as well as playing banjo on Ease Down the Road) for the evocative January 2005 release Superwolf. Reflective, bittersweet, and achingly melodic, it was praised as one of the year's first truly strong albums. Oldham and Sweeney followed up Superwolf that July with an extended single, I Gave You, featuring two non-album tracks. Sweeney was also on hand for the live album Summer in the Southeast, issued by Sea Note in November 2005. Oldham and Sweeney were joined by a full band for the shows. The singer released another solo album, The Letting Go, in September 2006 and followed it up with an EP of cover songs titled Ask Forgiveness in November 2007.

Oldham was especially prolific in 2008, beginning the year with the live album Wilding in the West, an Australia-only release recorded in California during his 2007 tour. That spring, he returned with Lie Down in the Light, one of Oldham's more polished efforts, which Oldham followed that fall with Is It the Sea?, another live album recorded on his 2006 U.K. tour and released by Domino. Just a few months later in spring 2009, Beware, an ambitious effort featuring contributions from Rob Mazurek, Azita Youseffi, and the Mekons' Jon Langford, arrived, and yet another live effort, Funtown Comedown, appeared before the year was up. His next project involved the Cairo Gang, loosely a solo project for guitarist Emmett Kelly (who had often played with Oldham). The co-billing produced a record in early 2010 entitled The Wonder Show of the World, followed by the similarly themed Wolfroy Goes to Town in 2011. Marble Downs, a collaboration with the likeminded Trembling Bells, appeared in 2012, as did Now Here's My Plan, a six song EP under the Bonnie "Prince" Billy moniker including reworkings of older tunes. The EP served as a companion piece for Oldham's book Will Oldham on Bonnie "Prince" Billy, a collection of conversations between Oldham and experimental sound artist Alan Licht. In 2013 Oldham reteamed with Letting Go guest vocalist and Faun Fables front woman Dawn McCarthy for What the Brothers Sang, a collection of Everly Brothers covers. ~ Heather Phares & Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

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Music

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  • The Seedling
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    The Seedling
  • Cold & Wet
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    Cold & Wet
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    • Today I Started Celebrating Again
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    • Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)
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    • Simple Man
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Interviews & Exclusives

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  • Reclining Toilet
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    Reclining Toilet
  • That Ding Dong Roof
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    That Ding Dong Roof
  • Educationated People
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    Educationated People

Photos

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  • Palace
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    Palace

News

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  • Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Watch: Yo La Tengo Team Up With Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Mission of Burma for Live Covers
    www.pitchfork.com
    . As TwentyFourBit points out, on Tuesday night, Bonnie "Prince" Billy & the Cairo Gang opened and joined Yo La Tengo for a version of Lou Reed's "Hea...
    Read More
  • Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Bonnie "Prince" Billy Leads Sufjan Tribute Album
    www.pitchfork.com
    . Click on for the tracklist: Seven Swans Reimagined: 01 Bonnie "Prince" Billy: "All The Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands" 02 The Gregory Brot...
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  • Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Video: Bonnie "Prince" Billy: "New Wonder"
    www.pitchfork.com
    As previously reported, Bonnie "Prince" Billy & the Cairo Gang have a new 10" single called "Island Brothers" coming February 22 via Drag City. The si...
    Read More
  • Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Listen: Bonnie "Prince" Billy Covers Sufjan
    www.pitchfork.com
    ), and Bonnie "Prince" Billy, whose cover of Seven Swans opener "All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands" is streaming over at TwentyFourBit....
    Read More
  • Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Bonnie 'Prince' Billy In A Black Cab
    stereogum.com
    When not selling his own brand of coffee, Bonnie "Prince" Billy takes time out to record the 100th episode of Black Cab Sessions. In this edition of t...
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  • Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Bonnie "Prince" Billy Gets A Condom
    stereogum.com
    I'm not sure I've ever been in a situation where a Will Oldham-themed condom has been called for, but people have all sorts of preferences, and now on...
    Read More
  • Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Bonnie "Prince" Billy - "I See A Darkness" Video
    stereogum.com
    Bonnie "Prince" Billy has a new EP coming out featuring six reworked versions of songs from his own catalog, and the first sliver of that comes via a ...
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  • Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Bonnie "Prince" Billy - "A Time To Be Clear" Video
    stereogum.com
    Bonnie "Prince" Billy's new video constructs a tale of rabbit love that careens into dark, bloody territory. It's written by writer/journalist Mike Ay...
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  • Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Bonnie "Prince" Billy Releases Own Fragrance
    Paste
    Yes, you read that headline correctly. Singer-songwriter Bonnie "Prince" Billy has released his own fragrance. The musician, also known as Will Oldham...
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  • Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Backtrack: Palace Music Viva Last Blues
    stereogum.com
    people that it would probably eventually work for anyway, assuming you believe in destiny, if not, it's more murky and I'm not sure the logic can be u...
    Read More

Tour Dates

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  • May 22 Wednesday
    Bergen, Norway USF Verftet
    Buy Ticket
  • May 24 Friday
    Oslo, Norway Rockefeller
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  • May 29 Wednesday
    Stockholm, Sweden Kägelbanan Södra Teatern
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  • May 30 Thursday
    Gothenburg, Sweden Pustervik
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  • May 31 Friday
    Malmö, Sweden Kulturbolaget
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  • Jun 1 Saturday
    Copenhagen, Denmark Den Grå Hal, Christiania
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  • Jul 17 Wednesday
    Palmer, AK, US Vagabond Blues
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  • Jul 18 Thursday
    Anchorage, AK, US Tap Root
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  • Jul 20 Saturday
    Dawson, YT, Canada Dawson City Music Festival
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  • Jul 21 Sunday
    Dawson, YT, Canada Dawson City Music Festival
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  • Jul 25 Thursday
    Detroit, MI, US Trinosophes
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  • Jul 29 Monday
    New York, NY, US Town Hall New York
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  • Jul 30 Tuesday
    Philadelphia, PA, US Union Transfer
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  • Jul 31 Wednesday
    Washington, DC, US Sixth & I Synagogue
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  • Aug 2 Friday
    Columbus, OH, US Wexner Center for the Arts
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  • Aug 3 Saturday
    Newport, KY, US The Southgate House Revival
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Discography

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  • Solemns (2013)
    Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Solemns (2013)
    Drag City
  • What the Brothers Sang (2013)
    Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    What the Brothers Sang (2013)
    Palace Records
  • Now Here's My Plan (2012)
    Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Now Here's My Plan (2012)
    Drag City
  • The Marble Downs (2012)
    Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    The Marble Downs (2012)
    Honest Jon's
  • Afternoon (2012)
    Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Afternoon (2012)
    Black Tent Press
  • Wolfroy Goes to Town (2011)
    Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Wolfroy Goes to Town (2011)
    Drag City
  • The Wonder Show of the World (2010)
    Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    The Wonder Show of the World (2010)
    Drag City
  • Funtown Comedown (2009)
    Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Funtown Comedown (2009)
    Drag City
  • Beware (2009)
    Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Beware (2009)
    Drag City
  • Is It the Sea? (2008)
    Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Is It the Sea? (2008)
    Domino
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