Music
Press
Some try to unravel the South with words. Others with music. Fayette native Tricia Walker is proving adept at both. It’s clear she knows the things that make the South
southern. It’s clear she sees the beauty. It’s clear she sees the contradictions. - The Vicksburg Post
This singer-songwriter is committed to writing lasting music. - Oxford American Magazine
Blending memories from another age with vivid scenes from places not too far down the road, Walker immerses listeners in subjects from love to family ties to racial inequities. And she accompanies it all with well-crafted r&b tunes and an advanced musicianship that gently carry the listener through. - Performing Songwriter Magazine
“...wrenches a listener out of self-preoccupied complacency.” - Chicago Tribune
“...Her stories and songs...truly touched people...” - Disney Institute
Even though Alison Krauss won a Grammy for her rendition of Ms. Walker's "Looking In The Eyes of Love,"Ms. Walker, as a songwriter, often remains heard and not seen. - Chattanooga Times Free Press
This enhanced CD is a thoughtful collection of songs that focuses on the South. In addition to the music,
includes a video of The Heart of Dixie and other special features such as photos, lyrics, and audio of the songwriter discussing her personal story that led to the album’s creation.
It explores the dichotomy of personal black and white relationships in Southern culture that many from other areas may find surprising.
Walker’s delivery of Bobbie Gentry’s "Ode to Billie Joe" gives a fresh taste to the classic song.
- Jackson Free Press
Discography
"The Heart of Dixie"
"Canned Goods"
"Sticky Mud"
"More Than I Am"
"What A Wonderful Day!" (CD single)
"Velvet"
Photos
Bio
Tricia Walker is a singer and songwriter whose songs are steeped in the passion, pain and grace of the American South. Born and raised in Mississippi, Tricia has become one of the clearest voices of her own time and place. Her music has been recorded by Faith Hill, Patty Loveless and Alison Krauss, whose performance of Tricia’s "Looking in the Eyes of Love" earned a Grammy. A recording artist herself, Tricia’s enhanced CD, "The Heart of Dixie," thoughtfully captures the songwriter’s view of the South with well-placed lyrics and music reflecting her folk, R & B and storytelling influences.
“Culture is a precious, living thing,” Tricia says. “It has to be nurtured if it’s going to survive. Any artist or creative thinker has a responsibility to help chronicle his or her own time, place and people. That’s the surest way to keep a culture from disappearing.”
Before moving to Nashville in the 1980s, Tricia earned a degree in Music Education from Delta State University. While working on her Master’s Degree, she performed at clubs and festivals in Mississippi and Louisiana. She won American Song Festival and Mississippi Song Festival awards and moved to Music City to sign with giant gospel music publisher Word, Inc. As her songs were recorded on Grammy-nominated discs by Kathy Troccoli, Debby Boone, and The Imperials, her reputation as a songwriter spread. Well-respected producer Jerry Kennedy signed Tricia to his Polygram Group stable of writers, further solidifying her credibility.
Tricia’s instrumental skills earned her a spot backing Grand Ole Opry star Connie Smith, with whom she played for six years. She also toured extensively with Shania Twain and Paul Overstreet as a keyboard player and vocalist. Along with Pam Tillis, Karen Staley and Ashley Cleveland, Tricia was a founding member of “Women in the Round,” one of the most celebrated foursomes at Nashville’s prestigious Bluebird Café.
She has performed at the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Tin Pan South Songwriting Festival in Nashville, was a New Folk Winner at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas and featured at Austin’s South by Southwest Music Festival.
Other musical highlights include singing at Robert Redford’s Christmas Cantata at Sundance Resort in Utah as well as a live performance during a newly choreographed work for the Nashville Ballet entitled “All the Way Home,” co-written by Tricia and Kate Campbell.
Her song, "Down in Capetown", reflecting on apartheid, and "Halfway Around the World," written after the Tianemen Square uprising in China in 1989 illustrate how important songs with a conscience are to Tricia. Her uplifting song, "What a Wonderful Day!," was written at the request of a friend for breast cancer survivors and has sold over 30,000 copies.
It is Tricia’s belief that the South in which she was raised has been misrepresented in some ways that led to the creation of The Heart of Dixie. The thoughtful collection of songs debuted at a CD release concert at the Bluebird Café in Nashville.
In the summer of 2006, Tricia returned to her native and beloved Mississippi to serve as Director of the Delta Music Institute, a recording arts and music industry program at Delta State University.
Tricia Walker offers an entertaining slice of her places and times, delivered with a beautiful voice, strong musicianship and the ease of a veteran entertainer. Southern style never had it so good.
More information about Tricia Walker can be found online at www.bigfrontporch.com.
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