Will Crosswait
Will Crosswait is a story-teller. Whether he’s telling his own stories through his music or using his collaborative skills to tell the stories of others, the one constant in his discography is a quest for narrative tension, dramatic irony, or simply an epic tale.
Crosswait’s influences range wildly - from They Might Be Giants to MF DOOM. Likewise, he draws inspiration from musical stories like The Blues Brothers or Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Threads of hip hop, classic rock, indie, and soul music can all be found - even in his acoustic music. His love of wordplay is supported by his grooving bass lines, wicked guitar riffs, chaotic drums, and passionate vocals.
Originally from from Virginia, Crosswait moved to Los Angeles, California and draws inspiration from both coast’s music scenes. He cut his chops in the Fairfax music scene as a bassist, guitarist, drummer, and vocalist across genres such as blues, rock, jazz, hip hop, and pop. However, his role in LA has morphed into more of a songwriter-producer.
Crosswait is also the creator and leader of The Cantata Pansophical, a group of musicians who create artwork inspired by the Dungeons and Dragons web-series Critical Role. He has led this group in writing and producing multiple albums full of songs, including a full-length parody of the musical Hamilton, and raised thousands of dollars for charity.
Sounds like
Jonathan Coulton
Lawrence
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lake Street Dive
Valley
Highlights and Achievements
An Exandrian Musical
In 2018, Will Crosswait released a full-length Hamilton parody musical based on the Dungeons and Dragons live-stream show Critical Role. This 46 song musical, entitled Vox Machina: An Exandrian Musical, was a result of Crosswait bringing together and leading over 100 singers and artists from all across the world. The release was met with praise from fans and critics alike and has earned his group, The Cantata Pansophical, over 6 million views on YouTube.
A Critical Concert
In 2020, Crosswait hosted a three day virtual concert series during a global pandemic. He brought together more than a dozen musicians to play new and re-imagined music, talk about their work, and raise money for Amnesty International. This concert series raised more than $7,500 and earned more than 20 thousand views.
This was followed by a holiday-themed concert the following year which also raised thousands for Amnesty international
Recent Works: MIXtape / LA EP
In 2021, Crosswait released two EPs full of original music - one with the Cantata and one as a solo project.
The LA EP documents his long drive from the East Coast to Los Angeles using soul-pop music and represents some of his best songwriting to date.
Molly’s Rules is the result of a collaboration between Crosswait and Meany Vizzini, a fellow songwriter in the Cantata. This project outlines the story beats of a proposed original musical based on Critical Role and draws inspiration from classic musicals, hip hop, and folk music.
