William Fitzsimmons w/ Denison Witmer at Stubb’s -

AUSTIN – William Fitzsimmons was in town with his best friend on tour opening for him, Denison Witmer. Stubb’s indoor stage was set differently with nice light bulbs and a framed picture as props. A majority of the audience wasn’t familiar with Denison but common knowledge of William Fitzsimmons should be enough to enjoy Witmer’s music.

This singer-songwriter from Lancaster, Pennsylvania played the entire set accompanied only by guitars and pedal effects -he sounded amazing. Witmer sure knows his way around guitar strings and produced intriguing melody at the start of every song. He is also good with jokes and that William Fitzsimmons impression though. His most notable joke for the night was probably when he said that “it’s a good time to be in Austin… when it’s not South by Southwest”. He then added, “I remembered just walking around and feeling depressed for those people.”

There wasn’t an extreme transition between the two artists. Both performed with only their guitars. Fitzsimmons, in a lot of ways is very similar to Witmer on style and obviously, sense of humor. These two could pass for a duo and they would sound so good together. The night made a turn when Fitzsimmons brought back the millennium hit by Backstreet Boys, I Want It That Way and everyone was singing along. It was a beautiful quiet night, perfect for chilling out and lounging while listening to these two performers. Check out William Fitzsimmons and Denison Witmer if they’re coming to your city, you definitely won’t want to miss out their hauntingly beautiful tunes.

Article and photos by: Christian Sena