Joshua Ray Walker

Joshua Ray Walker on Saturday, April 12 at The Wayfarer in Costa Mesa, CA!

Dallas native Joshua Ray Walker’s latest release, Thank You For Listening, is a self

declared love letter to his fans and supporters. The album is a compilation of acoustic

renditions from his critically acclaimed trio of albums Wish You Were Here, Glad You

Made It, and See You Next Time. Although the majority of these songs have previously

been released, these new renderings strip these fan favorites down to their raw and

intimate core, highlighting the essence of Joshua Ray Walker’s songwriting and vocal

talent. The project also includes the newly released title track “Thank You For Listening,”

which has been described as a “gorgeous and melancholic ballad” by Brooklyn Vegan.

The aforementioned trio of albums, released from 2019 to 2021, are packed tight with

character-driven songs that put multiple national-tours worth of crowds on the precipice

of staining their shirts with either beers or tears, depending on the song. The third of the

trio, See You Next Time, led to Walker appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy

Fallon and CBS Saturday Morning, brought with it performances at the Grand Ole Opry,

Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and Gruene Hall in Texas, landed him on Rolling Stone’s

“Best of 2021” list, and prompted SPIN to call him “one of country’s most exciting

storytellers.”

In 2023, Walker followed up “The Trilogy” with What Is It Even?, an 11-track cover

album consisting of songs made famous by female pop acts. Seemingly unafraid of

whether it stripped him of the “standard bearer of authentic country music” label that

some circles have tagged him with, Walker said What Is It Even? is a specific snapshot

of some of his inspirations. The song choices make the album feel something like an

Alice In Wonderland version of your most fun-loving friend’s iPod shuffle dug out of their

closet. There’s a country version of Cher’s “Believe”, a sort of grunge/country adaptation

of Q Lazarus’ “Goodbye Horses”, a rendition of The Cranberries’ “Linger” with Kyle

Gass of Tenacious D on the recorder, and the crown jewel, a cover of Lizzo’s “Cuz I

Love You” that is a vocal showcase. That cover of Lizzo led Rolling Stone to say that the

cover “...should be his star-making turn” and resulted in a performance of the song on

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Host or Publisher The Wayfarer