Meet William Crighton, a contemporary songsmith

By Riverine Herald

Feb 16, 2022

Ahead of the game: William Crighton has established himself as one of Australiaʼs foremost contemporary songsmiths and performers.

Since the release of his 2016 critically acclaimed self-titled debut, William Crighton has established himself as one of Australiaʼs foremost contemporary songsmiths and performers.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

His darkly majestic follow-up Empire (2018) was named Album of the Year by Hoodoo Gurusʼ Dave Faulkner in The Saturday Paper, while Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst has sung the praises of Mr Crightonʼs deeply resonant, ineffably Australian vocal delivery; a nod to his roots in the NSW Riverina, Wiradjuri Country.

Mr Crighton has performed and been reviewed as a highlight at major festivals both in Australia and across the world, including Bluesfest, WOMAD, Woodford Folk Festival, Tonder Festival (Denmark), BoomTown (UK), Winnipeg Folk Festival (Canada) and Cambridge Folk Festival (UK).

He has also toured with Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real, Missy Higgins, C.W. Stoneking, Dan Sultan and the Beach Boys. In 2020 Mr Crighton also represented Australia as part of Global Music Match.

The year 2020 was going to be Mr Crightonʼs biggest international touring year including his Glastonbury Festival debut.

“Weʼve been working really hard over there and had a lot planned, but so did everyone,” he said.

“Weʼre lucky in Australia to have dodged the worse of it to date, and Iʼm grateful that my family and I are here ... Weʼre even playing a bit now, hopefully going to be touring a lot more soon.”

William Crighton will be wowing audiences both on the main stage on Friday night and aboard the Pride of the Murray paddlesteamer.

By Riverine Herald

RIV Herald