Bill Hickman

Bill Hickman is an intense, lyrical singer/songwriter from Wellington, New Zealand. A long-serving stalwart of New Zealand stages, Bill has played in bands (The Shot Band, Billy Bones, Parcel of Rogues and King Lazy) and as a soloist all over the country and further abroad. A self-described ‘folkie with a chip on his shoulder’ Bill’s songs run the gamut from murder and outlaws to absent friends, love and gratitude. With a strong, gravel dragged voice and country-inflected acoustic guitar; fans of Warren Zevon, Johnny Cash and Townes van Zandt will find touchstones in his songwriting and selected covers.  But don’t be fooled into thinking this is a set of gentle melancholy,
Bill's primary approach is ‘gutsy’. He has done his time howling above the clamour and is always capable of stepping it up a notch when the occasion or story requires.  

2018 saw Bill conduct a successful Kickstarter campaign to assist the creation of his first full-length solo album. "Crossbones" was released in May 2019. The album features a variety of contributions and colour from Wellington-based musicians such as Adam Crawford, Dusty Burnell, Darren Watson, John O’Connor, Alan Norman (The Warratahs), Kim Bonnington and Hamish Graham (Milkthistle, The Shot Band). Live, Bill is backed by Crawford(Percussion) and Burnell(Mandolin, Lap steel and guitars) with new addition Tom Joass on Bass.

After travelling about NZ to promote "Crossbones" four-piece has begun to collaborate on new tunes and preproduction for a new more group orientated record. Performing on RNZ’s Sofa Session’s during August Bill and Dusty debuted new the new tune ‘Don’t be sad’ which was written during soundchecks as the group toured.

Bill’s band surrounds his tunes with mandolins, lap steel, banjos and earthy roots rhythm. Performances range from pin-drop intimacy to the ring of feedback and shots fired.  Bill Hickman, a ghost of gravel and smoke.