Two days after Arcade Fire announced their upcoming album WE — and hours after the band staged a surprise show in New York City — longtime member Will Butler, the younger brother of founding member Win Butler, revealed he has left the band
“Hi friends— I’ve left Arcade Fire,” Butler wrote in a series of tweets Saturday. “I left at the end of last year, after the new record was complete. There was no acute reason beyond that I’ve changed—and the band has changed—over the last almost 20 years. Time for new things.”
Hi friends—
I’ve left Arcade Fire— Will Butler (@butlerwills) March 19, 2022
Will Butler appears on Arcade Fire’s WE, which they recorded in 2021, but wasn’t onstage at recent during the band’s recent concerts in New Orleans and New York City. Will — who played a variety of instruments in the group, including bass, synthesizers and percussion — joined Arcade Fire in 2003 and appeared on each of the band’s studio albums from 2004’s Funeral to the upcoming WE, due out May 6th.
Butler tweeted that he has “a few other projects percolating,” as well as continue his activism work.
“Thank you to anyone who’s come out to AF shows, or bought a record, or loves our music. It’s meaningful to be part of your lives. Thank you to the crew, staff, management, label people, bands, artists, and friends who have helped bring our vision to life for so many years,” Butler added, reiterating that Arcade Fire “are still my friends and family.”
Arcade Fire, who will perform another surprise benefit show tonight at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, have not yet commented on Will’s exit.