Emerging artists who score a booking at Stagecoach surely experience that “good news/bad news” moment when reality sinks in: They get to play the world’s largest gathering of country music fans, but usually do so early in the day, long before the masses show up for the superstar headliners.
That’s what lower-tier acts are up against when they perform on the festival’s recently introduced SiriusXM Spotlight Stage, a smaller space placed a hundred yards or so in front of the Mane Stage where the most popular contemporary country acts perform beginning in the late afternoons.
Five acts per day are allotted about 25 minutes each, in which they strive to connect with the smattering of listeners who turn up in the blazing midday heat. Canadian singer-songwriter William Prince overcame such obstacles Saturday on his way to delivering one of the most captivating performances of the weekend. Armed with just an acoustic guitar for accompaniment, the 33-year-old artist served up several compelling songs from his 2015 album “Earthly Days,” which won best contemporary roots album of the year at the 2017 Juno Awards, Canada’s answer to the Grammys.
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His performance on the Juno Awards show of his song “Breathless” caught the attention of record executive Daniel Glass, who promptly signed Prince to his Glassnote indie label to further spread the word to greater swaths of North America.
That led to an artist spotlight segment on SiriusXM satellite radio, which is where Stacy Vee, Goldenvoice’s talent buyer who assembles the lineup for Stagecoach each year, was introduced to his music, in turn booking him for what is only his second live performance in California, after a visit last year to play in Napa Valley’s wine country.
Prince’s songs transcend the conventions and tropes of commercial country, demonstrating more in common with the folk-country tradition of literate songwriting exemplified by Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark and Kris Kristofferson.
“Breathless” may be his best known song to date, and the video has accumulated more than half a million views:
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So there’s this voice inside
Terrified, plagued with pride
Resonating, sounding like my own
Then piece by piece so suddenly, no subtleties
Your beauty, it can bring me to my knees
In fact, Prince cited Kristofferson among his key influences shortly after finishing his set, relaxing backstage in Stagecoach’s artist compound.
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Canada’s William Prince, shown performing April 27 at Stagecoach in Indio, received a Juno Award for contemporary roots album for his 2015 collection “Earthly Days”
(Randy Lewis / Los Angeles Times)
“I’ve written songs, and poetry, since I was a kid,” he said, noting that his father also wrote songs and recorded three albums of his own. “I was at church every Sunday playing this old country-western-gospel stuff and listening to Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson.”
He also pointed with pride to the long history of great songwriters out of Canada, from Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell to Gordon Lightfoot and Neil Young (Prince shares a booking agent with Young).
“Some of it’s that the winter forces you to stay in your house,” he said. “You’ve got to make good art if you want to keep working, because there are so many great artists up there.”
His surname is more than just a family name — it derives from his direct lineage to Chief Peguis of the Saulteaux-Cree First Nation people of Ontario. After one of Chief Peguis’ descendants converted to Christianity, he took the name William King, and his offspring were given the surname Prince.
For a time, Prince was on track to become a doctor, and he studied microbiology en route to that goal. But the call of music proved to be stronger. He’s wrapping up work on a new album to follow “Earthly Days,” and still is regularly on the road, building a following piece by piece, playing for a few fans at a time, as he did Saturday.
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“I love the atmosphere” at Stagecoach, he said. “You’re put in the realm of entertainers who are really pushing the boundaries of performance, and then I come in here low and lazy with just a guitar and the songs kind of carry and bring people in and it just became any other show. That’s the best part of it all.”
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Before the bands started playing, people take turns on a giant slip-n-slide amid the crowd in the RV Resort on the final day of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Country music fans play volleyball in cowboy hats and boots in the RV Resort on the final day of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A couple ride the ‘Yeehaw Seesaw’ in the RV Resort on the final day of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Gary Cole, of Poway, and Clay Hatch, of Ramona, snorkel amid the desert heat in their pool at the RV Resort on the final day of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Katie Anderson, left, and Jessica Tremblay, both of San Diego, take photos in a photo booth that was installed inside one of Tinker Tin Trailer Co.’s 1952 Crown on the second of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival, the world’s biggest country music festival, at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Jen Tuffley and her son, Landon, 2, of San Jose, watches CAM perform on the Mane Stage on the second of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival, the world’s biggest country music festival, at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif., on April 27, 2019. Stagecoach fans have the chance to watch some 75 performers and DJs over three days.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Country Strong shooting massacre survivors and supportive dancers hold a banner after performing to the official Stagecoach HonkyTonk song “Country Strong,” written and performed by Los Angeles-based country band Honey County and remixed by DJ Hish, and the dance, created by Stagecoach Dance Captain Anne Marie Dunn with Borderline dance teacher Kristal Lynn Konzen.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Route 91 survivor James Marrs, of Moreno Valley, holds a Route 91 banner during “Country Strong,” a song and dance honoring the country music community and celebrating those who dance on despite tragedy, at the Honky Tonk at Stagecoach on the second day, Saturday, April 27, 2019.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Country Strong shooting massacre survivors and supportive dancers hug after performing to the official Stagecoach HonkyTonk song “Country Strong,” written and performed by Los Angeles-based country band Honey County and remixed by DJ Hish, and the dance, created by Stagecoach Dance Captain Anne Marie Dunn with Borderline dance teacher Kristal Lynn Konzen, at the HonkyTonk on the second of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival, the world’s biggest country music festival, at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif., on April 27, 2019. Stagecoach fans have the chance to watch some 75 performers and DJs over three days.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Country music fans take photos on a classic tractor on the second of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Country music fans take photos in front of the Stagecoach sign and giant Ferris wheel on the second of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans cheer as Travis Denning performs on the Sirius XM Spotlight Stage on Saturday at Stagecoach Country Music Festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Johnny Davis, of Playa del Rey, shows off his “Toy Story” outfit as the cowboy character Woody while listening to Rita Wilson perform on the Palomino Stage on the second of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A fan dances as Cody Johnson performs on the Palomino Stage on Friday, the first day of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Kimberly Ng and Heather Ticzon, both of San Francisco, pose for photos on the hood of a classic Ford F100 and trailer from the Tinker Tin Trailer Co. on the first day of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Leapin’ Louie Lichtenstein performs a lasso trick with a guest on the first day of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Quad bike riders, from left, Jennifer Sanchez of Redlands, Jade Hinds of Chino, Taylor Purbbaugh of Covina and Ryan Bartz of Riverside parade around the RV Resort during their visit to Stagecoach 2019.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Stagecoach festival-goers Ryan Ferrara, from left, Vanessa Costantino, Kent Draper and Thomas Woods, all of San Diego, pose in the RV Resort.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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From left, Stagecoach attendees Richard Messerly of Palmdale, Jimi Sepulveda of Irvine, Holly Anderson of Irvine and Jaime Seitz of Palmdale pose for a photo while putting up lights at dusk in the RV Resort.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Ashley Adair of Anaheim Hills displays the American flag in lights at the RV Resort as hundreds of fans arrive for the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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As the gates open at noon, Stagecoach festival-goers run to save the best general public seats as they kick off the three-day music event in Indio.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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The crowd cheers as Kane Brown performs on the Mane Stage on the first day of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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From left, Jaime Seitz, Jamie Harlan, Bree Robeck and Jayme Hazelwood pose for a photo while listening to Cody Johnson perform on the Palomino Stage at the Stagecoach festival.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans cheer as rocker Bret Michaels performs on the Palomino Stage on the first day of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Early arrivals dance at the K-Frog dance party Thursday night on the eve of the three-day 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival.
