Edwin Farnham Butler III (born April 14, 1980) is an American-Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist. He co-founded the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

-based

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

band

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core mem ...

with his wife

Régine Chassagne Régine Alexandra Chassagne (; born 19 August 1976) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist, and is a member of the band Arcade Fire. She is married to co-founder Win Butler. Early life and career Régine Alexand ...

Early life

Butler was born in

Truckee, California Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 16,180, reflecting an increase of 2,316 from the 13,864 counted in the 2000 Census and having the 316th highe ...

, and raised in

The Woodlands, Texas The Woodlands is a special-purpose district and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. The Woodlands is primarily located in Montgomery County, with p ...

, with a

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into se ...

upbringing. He lived in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina, before his brother

Will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and wi ...

was born. His father, Edwin Farnham Butler II, worked as a geologist for oil conglomerate

Halliburton Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation responsible for most of the world's hydraulic fracturing operations. In 2009, it was the world's second largest oil field service company. It has operations in more than 70 countries ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

. His mother, Liza Rey, performed on the family TV show, ''

The King Family Show ''The King Family Show'' is an American musical variety series that featured The King Sisters and their extended musical family. The series first aired on ABC from January 1965 to January 1966. The series was revived in 1969, airing from Marc ...

'', plays jazz harp and sings. Butler's parents currently live on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Butler's maternal grandfather was

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conv ...

ist

Alvino Rey Alvin McBurney (July 1, 1908 – February 24, 2004), known by his stage name Alvino Rey, was an American jazz guitarist and bandleader. Career Alvin McBurney was born in Oakland, California, United States, but grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Early i ...

, a pioneer bandleader whose career spanned eight decades. His maternal grandmother, Luise, was a member of The King Sisters, who starred in a weekly variety program on ABC called ''The King Family Show''. At the age of 15, Butler started attending the

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

preparatory school in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, where he lived in Abbot Hall. After graduation, he studied photography and creative writing at

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sarah Lawrence scholarship, particularly ...

, but left after a year.

Career

Butler moved to

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, Canada in 2000 to attend

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...

, where he met his future wife,

, whom he married in 2003. Butler graduated from McGill in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in religious studies. Butler participated in the 2005

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...

benefit project, "

Do They Know It's Hallowe'en? "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" is a charity record inspired by " Do They Know It's Christmas?". It was released on October 11, 2005, in Canada on Vice Records by a cast of rock artists and other performers under the name "North American Hallow ...

," along with Chassagne. The two also collaborated on the music for the Richard Kelly film '' The Box''. On April 2, 2011,

LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy, co-founder of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals, various instruments), Nancy Whang (synthesizer, keyboards, vocals), Pat Mahoney ( ...

played its last concert before its disbandment. Arcade Fire performed with them during the song "North American Scum." During James Murphy's stumbling introduction to the song, Butler shouted out "shut up and play the hits!" Murphy immediately responded, "ladies and gentlemen, for our live record entitled 'Shut Up and Play the Hits'" and Butler's cry later became the title of the documentary of the concert. In September 2011, Butler played in a charity basketball tournament in Toronto, Ontario, known as "Rock The Court." Several other celebrities and athletes participated, such as Matt Bonner of the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

. Butler also works as a DJ using the stage name Windows 98. Sometimes he works under this moniker as the opening act for Arcade Fire itself. In March 2015, Butler and Chassagne attended the launch of

music streaming A music streaming service is a type of streaming media service that focuses primarily on music, and sometimes other forms of digital audio content such as podcasts. These services are usually subscription-based services allowing users to stream d ...

service Tidal, and revealed themselves, along with other notable artists, as

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal o ...

s in the company.

Personal life

Butler is married to fellow Arcade Fire member

, who gave birth to the couple's only child, a son, in 2013. Butler lives in New Orleans with his family. Butler was naturalized as a Canadian citizen on July 9, 2019, in a ceremony held in Montreal and hosted by

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC; french: Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada)Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program since 2015; the legal title is Departm ...

minister Ahmed Hussen. Butler is a frequent participant in the

NBA All-Star Celebrity Game The NBA All-Star Celebrity Game is an annual exhibition basketball game held by the National Basketball Association that takes place during the NBA All-Star Weekend and features retired NBA players, WNBA players, actors, musicians and athletes ...

, and won the game's

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

award in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Sexual misconduct allegations

According to a ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' article published on August 27, 2022, four individuals have accused Butler of sexual misconduct, with some saying he initially contacted them on social media. Butler said all contact with the accusers was consensual, and he denies all allegations of misconduct. In a statement to Pitchfork, a representative for Butler acknowledged he had sexual interactions with each of them, but said they were not initiated by him and were consensual. His wife corroborated his statements. On November 22, 2022, Pitchfork published a follow-up article detailing Butler's manipulative interactions towards a fifth person. These interactions were described by the individual as "Emotionally abusive, manipulative, toxic, and using his power dynamic to exploit my body at times that were convenient for him."

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Win 1980 births Alternative rock guitarists American rock singers Singer-songwriters from California Canadian rock singers Arcade Fire members Living people McGill University alumni Musicians from Houston Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Sarah Lawrence College alumni American indie rock musicians Canadian indie rock musicians Grammy Award winners People from Truckee, California People from The Woodlands, Texas Former Latter Day Saints Guitarists from Texas 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American singers 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American keyboardists American mandolinists 21st-century American bass guitarists American banjoists American male singer-songwriters 21st-century Canadian guitarists 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian pianists 21st-century Canadian keyboardists Canadian mandolinists 21st-century Canadian bass guitarists Canadian banjoists Canadian male singer-songwriters American male pianists American male bass guitarists Singer-songwriters from Texas