Hailing from Champaign, Illinois, the multi-talented songwriter, poet, and educator Cameron McGill surfaced in the early 2000s with a darkly romantic fusion of roots rock, indie folk, pop, and Americana. His debut arrived in 2004 via Stories of The Knife and The Back, after which he spent the subsequent two decades issuing thoughtful, emotive albums such as Warm Songs for Cold Shoulders (2009) and Gallows Etiquette (2013). His recorded work, most often supported by the band What Army, also encompassed a six-year membership in Margot & the Nuclear So and So's; additionally, McGill earned an MFA in creative writing from the University of Idaho and teaches at Washington State University, releasing his first poetry collection, Meridians, in 2020.
Born in Champaign-Urbana, McGill traces his musical awakening to his father's record collection, where early listening to the Beach Boys, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash left a lasting mark; by high school he was playing guitar and writing songs. After graduating from the University of Illinois, he relocated to Chicago in 1998, and following two years performing in the local coffeehouse and bar circuit he formed Morris Minors with Paul Callen and Gabe Grout; the group released a self-titled EP in 2002 before dissolving the following year.
McGill then proceeded as a solo artist, issuing Stories of The Knife and The Back on his own Post-Important label in fall 2003. He continued with solo tours across North America into 2004 and undertook international dates alongside Rachael Yamagata and Tom McRae. His second album, Street Ballads & Murderesques, appeared in January 2006. Beginning with the EP The Company of Great Thieves, the ensuing series of releases—Hold On Beauty (2007), Warm Songs for Cold Shoulders (2009), Is a Beast (2011), and Gallows Etiquette (2013)—appeared under the name Cameron McGill & What Army. Between 2009 and 2014 he served as a member of the Indianapolis chamber pop and indie rock outfit Margot & the Nuclear So and So's; in 2020 he released the poetry chapbook Meridians, with a full-length poetry collection and a new album slated for the following year.
