Ray Bonneville and Seth Walker

About Ray Bonneville

Ray Bonneville has been called a ‘poet of the demimonde,’ and with the release of his 10th album, On The Blind Side, he lives up to the name. Bonneville delivers nine originals with a voice that moves from soothing to troubling…depending on the direction of the song. He co-produced the record with Texas singer-songwriter/producer Will Sexton, who also plays on the album. While remaining accessible to the listener, this new group of songs represents a more introspective phase for Ray. With insights gained from isolation, Ray has emerged from the pandemic ready to share more of his life story, to draw from it creatively, to allow it to take him to new places and take his audience along with him.

A winner and three-time nominee of the coveted Juno Award, Bonneville has worked with the best in Americana and Blues music, performing on albums by Mary Gauthier, Gurf Morlix, Eliza Gilkyson, Ray Wylie Hubbard and others. He shares songwriting credits with the likes of Tim O’Brien, Phil Roy and Gurf Morlix. He has performed at renowned venues around the world, including South by Southwest, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the New Orleans Jazz Festival, The Newport Folk Festival and plays over 100 shows per year across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. When not on the road, Ray divides his time between homes in Goulais River, Ontario and Austin, Texas.

About Seth Walker

Seth Walker is often cited as one of the most prolific contemporary Americana artists on the scene today. He’s a multi-dimensional talent who combines a gift for melody and lyric alongside a rich, Gospel-drenched, Southern-inflected voice with a true blue knack for getting around on the guitar. His new studio album, I Hope I Know, produced by Jano Rix of The Wood Brothers, and a string of singles, including “We Got This,” “Spirits Moving” and a cover of Van Morrison’s classic “Warm Love” further build upon this reputation.

In 2021, Walker added published author to his oeuvre with his first memoir, ‘Your Van Is On Fire.’ A riotous and charming melange of a touring musician’s life, the book is comprised of many short essays, poems and paintings he’d accumulated over a near 30-year career. Written during the pandemic lockdown, Walker offers a first hand account of an artist in perpetual motion who’s dedicated his life to chasing the muse wherever it may lead.

Growing up on a commune in rural North Carolina, the son of classically trained musicians, Seth Walker played cello long before discovering the guitar in his 20s. When his introduction to the blues came via his Uncle Landon Walker, who was both a musician and disc jockey, his fate was forever sealed. Instantaneously, Seth was looking to artists like T-Bone Walker, Snooks Eaglin, and B.B. King as a wellspring of endless inspiration. The rest is history. He’s released ten albums, broken into the Top 20 of the Americana Radio Charts, reached No. 2 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart and received praise from NPR, American Songwriter, No Depression and Relix, among others.

In addition to extensive recording and songwriting pursuits, Seth is consistently touring and performing at venues and festivals around the world. Along with headline shows, he’s been invited to open for The Mavericks, The Wood Brothers, Raul Malo, Paul Thorn and Ruthie Foster, among others.

Seth Walker is currently based in Asheville, NC after previously residing in Austin, New Orleans and Nashville. He’s used those experiences wisely, soaking up the sounds and absorbing the musical lineage of these varied places. With a bluesman’s respect for roots and tradition, coupled with an appreciation for—and successful melding of—contemporary songwriting, Seth sublimely incorporates a 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.”

Press Quotes:

“…an accomplished guitarist and an even better singer, distilling the soul of Ray Charles, the Southern boy roots charm of Delbert McClinton, and an uptown blues turn of phrase (à la Percy Mayfield) into his own distinct voice.” – The Vinyl District

“Walker’s brilliantly nuanced vocals are as natural, clear, sharp, and as effortlessly elegant as his guitar playing…” – All Music

“It’s a welcome thing that Seth Walker’s chosen to pitch his tent in Americana…Walker has a way with smooth and swinging phrasing and makes classically accessible up-front pleas.” – Nashville Scene

“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.” – Country Standard Time