"The first time I heard Seth Walker at a small club in Nashville I was impressed like I haven't been impressed in 30 years, with performance, presence, and great songs." - Delbert McClinton
It would seem to those previously unfamiliar with Seth Walker that he emerged practically overnight as one of the fastest rising stars in blues and roots music. Prior to his recent move to Nashville, the 38-year old singer and guitarist hung his hat in Austin for 15 years and has been fine-tuning his songwriting and soulful croon since his late teens.
"Austin has the country's best live-music scene — a lot more venues and a lot more people who come out and support it," Seth explains. "It's its own little world with its own life support system, and it allowed me to learn my craft. That laid-back, show-up-at-the-gig-two-minutes-before-the-show approach is part of Austin's charm. But the Nashville work ethic is something that inspires me. The level of musicianship is very high, because if you don't get it together there's a guy next door who's going to take your gig. This is my career, and here I can treat it like that."
Growing up on a commune in rural North Carolina, the son of classically trained musicians, Seth played cello before discovering the guitar. His introduction to the blues came via his Uncle Landon Walker who was both a musician and disc jockey. Before long Seth was looking to artists like T-Bone Walker, Snooks Eaglin, and B.B. King as a wellspring of endless inspiration. He released five albums between 1997 and 2007; his eponymously titled recording debut for Hyena Records broke into the Top 20 of the Americana charts and received praise from No Depression and Blues Revue, among others.
Skip forward to 2009 when Seth Walker returned with his sixth and unquestionably finest record to date, Leap of Faith. There could not, in fact, be a more apropos title. Intent on stepping up his game and exploring new musical territory, Seth took his hard-earned Austin cred to Nashville, challenging himself to keep the grit of his Texas home, but spit-shining his songs just enough to reach wider audiences. He hooked up with Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter Gary Nicholson, a veteran at achieving exactly Seth's goals with artists like Chris Knight, Jimmy Thackery, and Delbert McClinton. The resulting 12-track collection hits the nail squarely on the head, presenting the stunning range for which Seth has built his reputation, but refining it to a diamond shimmer.
"Today the blues are guitar-driven, but I wanted to do blues that were as lyric-oriented and as well-crafted as the songs I was hearing by Nick Lowe, John Hiatt, and Tom Waits," explains Seth. "Then one night I saw Gary Nicholson at the Saxon Pub in Austin, and he played this song, 'Everything I Know About the Blues (I Learned from You).' I said to myself, 'That's what I've been looking for.'"
The record was in the Top 10 on the Americana charts for nine weeks, while receiving praise from numerous publications, including No Depression, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. "Walker's sweet tenor carries an edge of pain, as well as affection for blue notes," proclaimed NPR, who featured "I Got a Song" as their Song Of The Day, and Blues Revue opined, "Seth Walker may have titled his new album 'Leap of Faith' but it actually took careful planning and lots of talent to come up with such a magnificent set of songs."
"Previously, I had always recorded albums my way, on my turf. This was different from the get go due to the fact that we recorded in Nashville with a new team of musicians, a new engineer, and a new feeling," Seth acknowledges. "I was out of my comfort zone, and it made me reach for something unknown to me. The album was made during a time in my life when I was caught up in some shadows. The idea of a leap of faith actually does reflect where I was personally and making this record was the light for me."
In addition to extensive national touring, Seth was chosen to headline the 28th Annual Rawa Blues Festival in Poland and was a featured performer on Delbert McClinton's Sandy Beaches Cruise in 2009 and 2010, while having opened shows for the likes of Raul Malo, Paul Thorn, and Ruthie Foster, among others. With a blues man's respect for roots and tradition, coupled with an appreciation for—and successful melding of—contemporary songwriting, Seth is one of a handful of artists who incorporate a wide range of styles with warmth and grace. Perhaps Country Standard Time said it best: "If you subscribe to the Big Tent theory of Americana, then Seth Walker –with his blend of blues, gospel, pop, R&B, rock, and a dash country—just might be your poster boy."
