Long may he reign

Time is on William Prince’s side.

It was also on his mind Saturday night as he sang, joked and preached about time and how it affects us all during his sold-out show at the Centennial Concert Hall.

It would be easy to forgive the Peguis First Nation singer-songwriter if he wished for time to stand still.

He’s reached a new high in his career. The Stand in the Joy tour, named after his 2023 album, is criss-crossing Canada to sold-out concert halls.

He took the stage amid fog, flashy lights and Ennio Morricone’s The Ecstasy of Gold, from the film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, a grand entrance befitting a rock star.

“If my dad were alive, he would have died of happiness seeing you all here tonight,” Prince said after receiving a standing ovation.

Prince attracts fans from reserves and suburbs alike, owing to his deep baritone voice, his mix of country, folk and peaceful-sounding rock, and his catchy songwriting, all of which have earned him two shots at a Juno Award later this month in Halifax.

He truly is standing in the joy, and he’s gathered a passel of memories from 2023 that could fill the pockets of the fancy charcoal coat he wore onstage.

Here are just a few: Prince performed at the Grand Ole Opry — one of a scant few Indigenous performers ever to take the stage at the Nashville landmark, let alone artists from Manitoba — and he’s gained enough notoriety in the United States that he shared the stage with Willie Nelson.

He recalled on Saturday the proud moment the Red-Headed Stranger pointed him out to the Texas crowd when it was Prince’s turn to sing.

“I can pretty much pack it in,” the 38-year-old Prince joked early in the show.

Fortunately the night was young, and Prince, along with his five-piece band — including his partner, Alycia Grace, on harmony vocals — soothed the crowd with a two-hour show of a growing list of favourites from Stand in the Joy to the beginning of his recording career just six years ago.

There were heartfelt relationship numbers such as Easier and Harder and When You Miss Someone, as well as hilarious ones, such as In Spite of Ourselves, a John Prine duet Prince sang with Grace, and his cover of the Backstreet Boys’ I Want it That Way, which had the crowd laughing and singing along with, often at the same time.

While Prince has the trappings of a star on the rise — the flashy stage backdrop included his name in giant lettering and fans in the balconies shouted for him to sing his biggest song, The Spark, long before he finally did — he often spoke of the privilege he has recently gained.

He mentioned his humble beginnings in a small house with no running water, and recognized there are many who share his Indigenous background who live in similar circumstances — or worse — in 2024.

There were also lighthearted moments. Prince sang a moving rendition of Goldie Hawn, another Stand in the Joy track, after remarking upon how her films always pop up on TV.

He also chuckled about the movies of Kevin Costner — box-office bombs Waterworld and The Postman, rather than Dances with Wolves — before singing All I Know, which was included in an episode of Yellowstone, the Costner TV series.

Prince left the stage after performing 2023’s Tanqueray, with its nifty guitar hook, which at the end transformed into the first verse of Graceland, the Paul Simon classic.

It’s funny how time slips away at the end of a show, however, and Prince returned for an encore with Elvis Presley on his mind. The King’s Suspicious Minds preceded Prince’s Breathless, his first hit that includes the line, “’Cause I never heard a song sung quite like Elvis.”

Winnipeg’s Fontine kicked off the show with a lovely half-hour set, mentioning she had dreamed of performing at the concert hall ever since watching the Royal Winnipeg Ballet perform there as a kid.

Following her was Saskatchewan folk duo Kacy & Clayton, with the audience enjoying Kacy Anderson’s droll wit as well as her vast vocal range.

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Alan Small
Reporter

Alan Small has been a journalist at the Free Press for more than 22 years in a variety of roles, the latest being a reporter in the Arts and Life section.

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