Joshua Ray Walker releases What Is It Even?, his fourth album and first album of covers, via Soundly Music.
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?. “The latest display of his extraordinary versatility and dynamic talent” (KXT), Walker’s interpretations are equal parts familiar and jarring. Yet there is a through line that ties What Is It Even? together – songs created by powerful female artist with an uncompromising vision for their art.
“I realized how influential female pop records and artists have been on me as a person,” explains Walker. “Even more than in a creative sense.”
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?”
The country music canon is littered with standout covers and cover albums, but a vast majority of those come from within country music’s rich history. Walker offers a fresh twist by pulling mostly from outside of country music and by being unafraid to be a man singing songs originally crafted by and for women.
Walker will begin his month-long, first-ever headline tour of Europe and the UK on August 11th. He’ll open for The Killers on September 18th and 19th in Reno, NV, then head out with The Mavericks for a run of Texas dates before opening Marcus King’s Autumn tour.
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)
Joshua Ray Walker – 2023 UK / Europe Tour Dates
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