By Tyler Ody
Joshua Ray Walker Pays Tribute To Lizzo, Cher, Regina Spektor And More On What Is It Even? Out August 4th via Soundly Music
Watch the video for Walker’s take on Lizzo’s ‘Cuz I Love You’ here
First European headline tour in Aug/Sept, including 22 dates across the UK, Germany, Scandinavia and the Netherlands
(For immediate release) – Joshua Ray Walker has been called “country’s most fascinating young songwriter” by Rolling Stone and “one of country’s most exciting storytellers” by Spin. After releasing his first three albums, a trilogy of sorts that No Depression calls “the country music equivalent of the great American novel,” Walker decided it was time to just have some fun. The result is What Is It Even?, a tribute to some of Walker’s favourite female singers and songwriters, out August 4th 2023 via Soundly Music.
The genres covered and Walker’s interpretations are equal parts familiar and jarring. There’s a country version of Cher’s ‘Believe’, a sort of grunge/country adaptation of Q Lazarus’ ‘Goodbye Horses’, a mostly straight version of Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Nothing Compares To You’, a Spaghetti Western-inspired take on Sia’s ‘Cheap Thrills’, and a type of bluegrass adaptation of Beyonce’s ‘Halo’ that builds with vocal momentum like the original. 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.
Indeed, the album’s version of Lizzo’s ‘Cuz I Love You’ (out now - watch the video here) is a vocal showcase that was recorded after all the other songs because Walker worried he might not be able to pull it off. Rather than rapping, Walker quickly sings the verses before channelling Lizzo to belt the chorus, reaching peaks that are likely to astonish live audiences, similar to how the superstar and fellow Texan took the scene in 2019.
“I think ‘Cuz I Love You’ is about as close as you can get to a perfect pop record,” Walker says. “She’s probably the number one person I’d like to collaborate with. She’s the whole package.”
The catalyst of What Is It Even? was sparked on the patio of the Tulsa, Oklahoma music venue and dive bar Mercury Lounge, a fitting origin story for any country record. But this is far from an ordinary country record. It was on that Tulsa patio, deep into tour, when Walker and drummer Trey Pendergrass were half joking about what their gospel jump blues version of Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ would sound like, wondering “what if the Blues Brothers covered a Whitney Houston song?”
“I just wanted to make something that was fun,” Walker says. “I realized how influential female pop records and artists have been on me as a person, even more than in a creative sense.”
While his audience had grown and he was reaching the sort of success he’d hoped would result from his first three albums, it had been a difficult few years for Walker. His father lost a long battle with lung cancer, and a trusted advisor and musical mentor died unexpectedly. Coming out of COVID-19 lockdown, the country artist was also dealing with the flooding of his home. Beyond just lost memories, the flood made the house unlivable for months on end, meaning that Walker, who spent 200 days a year touring, would return home only to live in an extended stay hotel, as if he were still on the road. Career success wasn’t an immediate conduit to happiness, as many artists have learned. Walker wanted to get in the studio and have fun and record the sort of songs that are familiar salves to millions of people. The kind of music that can cheer you up.
For someone who has made waves in country music for his vocal range, from energising yodels to astonishing falsettos, Walker admits that what was required from this covers album was the hardest he’s ever pushed himself as a vocalist in the studio. Before this album was ever even an idea, these women – with their ability to create instant ear worms with their voices – helped Walker realise his vocal gifts when he used to sing a Beyonce or Sia song in the kitchen or the shower. He did what all of us do, only, unlike most of us, he discovered he could actually hit the notes.
What Is It Even? track list
‘Cuz I Love You’ (Lizzo)
‘Linger’ feat Kyle Gass of Tenacious D (The Cranberries)
‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ (Whitney Houston)
‘Believe’ (Cher)
‘Cheap Thrills’ (Sia)
‘Blue’ (LeAnn Rimes)
‘Goodbye Horses’ (Q Lazarus)
‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ (Sinead O’Connor)
‘Joshua’ (Dolly Parton)
‘Halo’ (Beyonce)
‘Samson’ (Regina Spektor)
This month, Walker embarked on an extensive U.S. headline tour of the West Coast and Southwest. He’ll open a pair of dates for Morgan Wade in July, then heads out on his first headline tour of Europe and the UK on August 11th - full dates below:
Joshua Ray Walker – 2023 Tour Dates
July 13 - Little Rock, AR - The Hall^
July 14 - - Birmingham, AL - Iron City^
August 3 - Crossville, TN - Byrds Creek Festival
August 4 - Indianapolis, IN - HI-FI Annex
August 11 - Kristiansand, NO - Vaktbua
August 13 - Oslo, NO - Cosmopolite Scene
August 14 - Trondheim, NO - Trykkeriet
August 15 - Bergen, NO - Ole Bull
August 17 - Stavanger, NO - Tou Scene
August 18 - Bodø, Norway - Parkenfestivalen
August 20 - Stockholm, SWE - Rootsy Live Stockholm
August 22 - Gothenburg, SWE - Pustervik
August 23 - Malmö, SWE - Folk å Rock
August 24-26 - Copenhagen, DK - Tønder
August 27 - Lutterworth, UK - The Long Road
August 28 - Hamburg, DE - Nachtwache
August 30 - Nijmegen, NL - Merleyn
August 31 - Amsterdam, NL - Het Zonnehuis
September 2 - London, UK - Oslo Hackney
September 3 - Newcastle, UK - The Cluny 2
September 4 - Glasgow, UK - The Hug and Pint
September 5 - Manchester, UK - The Deaf Institute
September 6 - Brighton, UK - The Prince Albert
September 8 - Cologne, DE - Blue Shell
September 9 - Enschede, NL - Tuckerville
September 10 - Berlin, DE - PRIVATCLUB
September 22 - Dallas, TX - Majestic Theatre**
September 30 - Houston, TX - House of Blues**
^Supporting Morgan Wade
**Supporting The Mavericks
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