Latest News
'You
Get Lost In the Voice' - Bristol Herald Courier
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full article here.
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Singing Without Limits from "American Profile"
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Bradley Walker Feature in the Christian Science Monitor
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NPR's
“Fresh Air” with Terry Gross Features Bradley Walker
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Full Interview online.
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Bradley Appears on NPR's “Here & Now”
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HERE to read and hear more from this story.
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RISING
COUNTRY/BLUEGRASS STAR BRADLEY WALKER WINS OVER CRITICS WITH “STELLAR
DEBUT” (USA TODAY),
HIGHWAY OF DREAMS
NEW ALBUM FEATURED ON
NPR’S FRESH AIR WITH TERRY GROSS
Cambridge, MA – Rising country/bluegrass
vocalist Bradley Walker is making serious inroads with his debut CD,
Highway of Dreams. The 28 year old Alabama native is winning over
critics with his “powerful and moving” (No Depression) CD and “rich,
resonant baritone” (Nashville Scene).
Said Entertainment Weekly’s editor-at-large Ken Tucker in a glowing
review on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, “One of the most striking
debuts of the year…this young man doesn’t need our curiosity or our
sympathy [Walker was born with muscular dystrophy]. What he needs is
enough of our appreciation to be able to quit that nuclear power plant
job and to pursue this phenomenal country/bluegrass thing he has going
for himself, full time.”
For the complete review,
Click Here.
Brian Mansfield echoed this sentiment in a 3 ½ star record review in USA
Today, calling Highway of Dreams “a marvelous piece of work, by
turns inspirational and heartbreaking, showcasing a voice that would
make Lefty Frizzell proud.”
Released on September 12, Highway of Dreams is a heartfelt
collection of hard country and bluegrass, produced by the Grammy-award
winning Carl Jackson and featuring guest support from Jackson, Vince
Gill, Alecia Nugent, Rhonda Vincent, Ron Block, Rob Ickes and many
others.
Founded in 1970, Rounder Records is America’s premier independent label.
Rounder and its Zoë, Heartbeat, Philo and Bullseye Blues imprints have a
catalog of over 3000 albums, representing a wide variety of folk, roots,
rock, blues, and reggae music.
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COUNTRY/BLUEGRASS VOCALIST BRADLEY WALKER TO PERFORM ON NATIONALLY-TELEVISED JERRY LEWIS MDA TELETHON, SEPTEMBER 3-4
Cambridge, MA – On September 3-4,
country/bluegrass vocalist Bradley Walker will perform on the Muscular
Dystrophy Association’s 2006 Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. Walker will
perform “If I Hadn’t Reached for the Stars” from his soulful debut album
and first Rounder recording, Highway of Dreams, set for release
September 12. A powerful vocalist hailed as “the next great voice of
bluegrass music” by Bluegrass Unlimited, Walker was born with Muscular
Dystrophy and has been in a wheelchair his entire life. The 28 year old
Alabama native made his first telethon appearance with the Oak Ridge
Boys in 1989, followed by appearances in 2001 and 2002.
“I’m proud to welcome back this gifted musician, whose success is sure
to inspire telethon viewers,” said comedy legend and MDA’s national
chairman Jerry Lewis. The 21½ hour telethon will be broadcast live from
the South Coast Hotel, Casino & Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada, from 9pm EST
on Sunday, September 3 to 6:30pm EST on Monday, September 4. The program
will be broadcast nationwide to nearly 50 million viewers in the U.S.
and Canada via 190 television stations in MDA’s “Love Network” as well
as on MDA’s website, www.mda.org, via Real Networks. Local air times and
stations are available at www.mda.org.
Produced by Grammy-award winning musician and songwriter Carl Jackson,
Highway of Dreams is a heartfelt collection of hard country and
bluegrass, featuring guest support by an extraordinary cast of musicians
including Vince Gill, Rhonda Vincent, Alecia Nugent, Ron Block, Rob
Ickes, and many others. With Highway of Dreams, Walker turns in one
breath-taking performance after another. “He really is one amazing
singer,” says Carl Jackson, “he’s a special person, as well as a
talent.”
MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat more than 40
neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research,
comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health
education. The Association’s programs are funded almost entirely by
individual private contributors.
Founded in 1970, Rounder Records is America’s premier independent label.
Rounder and its Zoë, Heartbeat, Philo and Bullseye Blues imprints have a
catalog of over 3000 albums, representing a wide variety of folk, roots,
rock, blues, and reggae music.
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ROUNDER RECORDS SIGNS CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED YOUNG BLUEGRASS VOCALIST BRADLEY WALKER
DEBUT ALBUM HIGHWAY OF DREAMS
DUE SEPT 12
“The next great
voice of bluegrass music…” – Bluegrass Unlimited
Cambridge, MA – Rounder Records is pleased to announce the signing of bluegrass vocalist Bradley Walker. Walker’s appearances with such established bluegrass acts as Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, IIIrd Tyme Out, Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, and The Lonesome River Band – as well as stints singing lead with regional favorites the Trinity Mountain Boys and Lost Horizon – have made the bluegrass community well aware of his rich baritone, heartbreaking phrasing, and the masterful sense of drama which unfolds with every note he sings. His stunning voice is in fine form throughout his debut album Highway of Dreams, which will be released on September 12.
Produced by Grammy TM-award-winning
singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Carl Jackson, Highway of
Dreams is an astonishingly accomplished first album, one that
explores a fertile yet rarely-ploughed intersection of hard country and
bluegrass via a remarkable selection of material and an extraordinary
cast of supporting musicians. Among the artists contributing
instrumentally and vocally are Vince Gill, Rhonda Vincent, Alecia
Nugent, Larry Cordle, Russell Moore, Sonya Isaacs, Cia Cherryholmes,
Adam Steffey, Ron Stewart, Ron Block, and Rob Ickes.
The road that led to Highway of Dreams was a challenging one for
the 27-year-old Alabama native, who was born with Muscular Dystrophy and
has been in a wheelchair his entire life. Backed by supportive parents
who encouraged his love of singing and will to live independently,
Walker’s career began at the age of three, when he sang “Elvira”
backstage with the Oak Ridge Boys – a collaboration that has since been
repeated onstage and on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon (on which
Walker has been profiled and featured again, with Lost Horizon and the
Lonesome River Band, in subsequent years). In 2002, Walker made his
Grand Ole Opry debut when he was invited to appear as a special guest of
IIIrd Tyme Out. He received a standing ovation and performed on the
Opry three more times in 2004 in separate appearances with Mark Wills,
Vince Gill, Dawn Sears, and Alecia Nugent. More recently, Walker was
featured in a duet with Nugent on the devastating “When It Comes Down To
Us,” from her 2006 Rounder release A Little Girl…A Big Four Lane,
also produced by Jackson.
Critics are already championing Walker. Nashville music journalist Robert K. Oermann recently called him “one of the greatest young country singers alive…Remember that name. He’s going places.” while Bluegrass Unlimited hailed him as “the next great voice of bluegrass music” in a 2005 feature story.
Walker counts country stars Vern Gosdin, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Lefty Frizzell, and Keith Whitley among his singing heroes, and his signature sound combines the tender, soulful vocal style that marks classic honky-tonk with the driving rhythms, harmony, and purity of bluegrass. Highway of Dreams is the fullest flowering of that style, and a powerful album by any standard.
Founded in 1970, Rounder Records is America’s premier independent label. Rounder and its Zoë, Heartbeat, Philo and Bullseye Blues imprints have a catalog of over 3000 albums, representing a wide variety of folk, roots, rock, blues, and reggae music.
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©2009 Bradley Walker