Musician William Butler is the brother of Win Butler, frontman of the popular group Arcade Fire.
William Pierce Butler is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who joined Arcade Fire in the early 2000s after moving to Montreal, where his brother Win was helping establish the band. Will played keyboards, synthesizers, bass, guitar, percussion, and contributed vocals, making him an important part of the group’s expansive live sound.
Arcade Fire formed in Montreal around 2001, with Win Butler and Régine Chassagne at its creative center. The band gained international attention with its 2004 debut album, Funeral, and later won the 2011 Grammy Award for Album of the Year for The Suburbs. Will Butler was part of the band during that rise and appeared on six studio albums.
He announced his departure from Arcade Fire in 2022, explaining that he had changed after nearly two decades with the group. He then continued working as a solo musician and composer. The family connection is sometimes overlooked because Win was the band’s more visible frontman, while Will often worked across several instruments onstage.