Seth Walker (born 1972) is an American

electric blues Electric blues is blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930s and John Lee Ho ...

singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He has released 10 albums to date, the most recent entitled ''Are You Open?'' (2019). Walker's musical genres include

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. ''Gotta Get Back'' was released on September 2, 2016, and debuted at number 6 in the US on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Top Blues Album. His 2009 album, ''Leap of Faith'', also charted on the ''Billboard'' Top Blues Album chart, peaking at number 2.

Delbert McClinton Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, h ...

remarked "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."

Life and career

Walker was born and grew up in Altamahaw Ossippee,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, United States, with classically trained musical parents. He learned to play the cello at the age of three, and gravitated towards the

in his teenage years, finding inspiration in the work of

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

Snooks Eaglin Fird Eaglin Jr. (January 21, 1936 or 1937 – February 18, 2009), known as Snooks Eaglin, was an American guitarist and singer based in New Orleans. In his early years he was sometimes credited under other names, including Blind Snooks Eaglin, ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

and

T-Bone Walker Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 ''R ...

. Walker attended

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

where he studied art. His first public performance occurred in

Greenville, North Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is the county seat of and the most populous city in Pitt County, North Carolina, United States. It is the principal city of the Greenville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 12t ...

. In his early twenties Walker moved to

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, and began to develop his skills as a singer, songwriter and guitarist. His first album, ''When It Pours It Rains'' was released in 1998. ''Meet Me in the Middle'' (2000) was similarly credited to the Seth Walker Band. His 2002 album release was entitled ''Restless''. ''On the Outside'' (2005) followed with a credit to Seth Walker and the Differentials. Walker's self-titled release, ''Seth Walker'', appeared in 2006 and received critical acclaim from periodicals including '' No Depression'', ''Blues Revue'' and ''Maverick UK''. It was after that release that Walker met the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-winning Gary Nicholson, with whom he developed a songwriting partnership. This alliance led to his most successful release to date, ''Leap of Faith'' (2009), which was produced by Nicholson. Walker stated "this 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 at personally and making this record was the light for me." The album contained tracks written by Walker alone, Walker and Nicholson, plus work by other songwriters including

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave,Percy Mayfield Percy Mayfield (August 12, 1920August 11, 1984) was an American rhythm and blues singer with a smooth vocal style. He was also a songwriter, known for the songs "Please Send Me Someone to Love" and "Hit the Road Jack", the latter being a song f ...

. Walker performed at the

Austin City Limits Music Festival Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas, on two consecutive three-day weekends and is inspired by the KLRU/PBS music series ''Austin City Limits''. The festival is pro ...

in September 2011, and has toured supporting both

Raul Malo Raul Francisco Martínez-Malo Jr. (born August 7, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He is the lead singer of country music band the Mavericks and the co-writer of many of their singles, as well as Rick Tr ...

and The Wood Brothers. The song "Back in Your Arms Again", jointly penned by Malo, Nicholson, and Walker, was recorded for

The Mavericks The Mavericks are an American band from Miami, Florida. The band consists of Raul Malo (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Deakin (drums), Eddie Perez (lead guitar), and Jerry Dale McFadden (keyboards). Malo and Deakin founded the band in 1989 along ...

' 2013 album, ''

In Time ''In Time'' is a 2011 American science fiction action film written, produced, and directed by Andrew Niccol. Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried star as inhabitants of a society that uses time from one's lifespan as its primary currency, wi ...

'', and released by them as a single. Walker lived for fifteen years in

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, before he relocated again in 2009 to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, where he recorded ''Time Can Change'' (2012). After touring, Walker moved to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

to record his 2014 album ''Sky Still Blue'' which was produced by Oliver Wood of The Wood Brothers. His album released September 2016 entitled ''Gotta Get Back'' was produced by Jano Rix of The Wood Brothers. Of ''Gotta Get Back''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

noted that "Walker explains in the liner notes that he looked back to his early childhood for what got him excited about music in the first place for the album, and that family played an important part". His 2019 recording, ''Are You Open?'', was chosen as a 'Favorite Blues Album' by

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Official websiteSeth Walker interview – April 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Seth 1972 births Living people American blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Singers from North Carolina Songwriters from North Carolina Electric blues musicians Americana musicians Guitarists from North Carolina 21st-century American singers 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male singers American male songwriters