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William Fitzsimmons

William Fitzsimmons is an Illinois-based singer/songwriter specializing in a gentle mixture of folk-rock and electronica applied to carefully written and often autobiographical songs that deliver a quiet emotional power. Emerging in the mid-2000s with a pair of lo-fi, self-released indie folk albums, Fitzsimmons found success in 2008 when he landed a pair of songs, "Passion Play" and "Please Don't Go," in the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy -- that year also marked the release of his first proper studio album, The Sparrow and the Crow. Subsequent offerings like Pittsburgh (2014), Mission Bell (2018), and Ready the Astronaut (2021) continued to explore the nuances of Fitzsimmons' personal life, from his upbringing in Pittsburgh to his parents' separation and his own experiences with divorce and new love. He explored his myriad influences on the two-volume Covers set, released in 2022 and 2023. Before earning comparisons to Iron & Wine and Sufjan Stevens with his hushed, eclectic folk music, William Fitzsimmons honed his skills in Pennsylvania. Born in Pittsburgh to two blind parents, both of whom were living-room musicians, he began playing piano and trombone in elementary school and taught himself guitar as a junior-high student. Over time, he also learned to play banjo, melodica, ukulele, and mandolin. While pursuing a master's degree at Geneva College, Fitzsimmons began tracking some of his songs on home-recording equipment. These self-produced recordings were compiled together and released as 2005's Until When We Are Ghosts, a strong debut album that appeared during Fitzsimmons' time working as a mental health therapist. Over time, Fitzsimmons began to attract a following on MySpace. Of course, it didn't hurt that his songs started showing up on various television soundtracks, too, including Grey's Anatomy, General Hospital, Life of Ryan, and Army Wives. A second self-produced album, Goodnight, appeared in 2006, influenced heavily by his parents' divorce during his childhood. He carried the theme of divorce into his first official studio album, 2008's The Sparrow and the Crow, which dealt with a recent split with his wife. Released in 2010, Derivatives lightened things up by focusing on electronica remixes of his past work (as well as a cover of Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl"), and 2011's Gold in the Shadow found Fitzsimmons confronting his demons with help from guest artists like Julia Stone. Lions, produced by Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, arrived early in 2014, followed in 2015 by Pittsburgh, the first of a pair of mini-LPs chronicling his formative years in the City of Bridges -- 2016's Charleroi: Pittsburgh, Vol. 2 focused on the grandmother he never knew. His first concert LP, William Fitzsimmons Live, arrived in 2017, with the divorce-themed studio LP Mission Bell arriving the following year. In 2021, Fitzsimmons returned with the lyrical and empowering Ready the Astronaut, which he revisited on the spare and intimate No Promises: The Astronaut’s Return later that year. 2022's Covers, Vol.1 saw Fitzsimmons' interpreting songs that have influenced him over the years, including "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (Joy Division) and "The Commander Thinks Aloud" (the Long Winters). A second set, the aptly named Covers, Vol.2, appeared in 2023 and featured versions of "Hold Me" (Fleetwood Mac) and "In Your Eyes" (Peter Gabriel) in his distinctive plaintive style.
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