Joshua Ray Walker and Sarah Shook & the Disarmers at the Raccoon Motel -- June 22.
Wednesday, June 22, 7 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
A pair of lauded independent musicians co-headline a June 22 concert event at Davenport's Raccoon Motel in conjunction with the releases of their 2022 recordings, with Joshua Ray Walker (described by Rolling Stone as "one of country’s most fascinating young songwriters") playing in support of See You Next Time, and Sarah Shook & the Disarmers (a group that Rolling Stone said "plays with fire and purpose") performing old favorites and new songs from Nightroamer.
A native of East Dallas, Texas, Walker started playing guitar at age 12, and worked as a session musician before writing his first country song at 19. Through a burgeoning career that has found the singer/songwriter sharing stages with acts such as the Old 97's, the Vandoliers, Colter Wall, and American Aquarium's B.J. Barham, he released his debut album Wish You Were Here in 2019, a work that was the immediate beneficiary of ecstatic reviews. Americana Highways lauded the recording of 10 songs as “an excellent album, especially so for a debut.” Saving Country Music, meanwhile, raved, “This is music that makes you palpably feel the raw emotions of run-down life and ragged dreams with no perfumes or filters to soften the pain, yet underneath the dirt and stink are these sad poetic notions that speak to the wisdom behind a life hard lived. [Walker] pulls it off by penning tunes beyond his years, matching them up with a mournful sound worthy of the sorrow-soaked sentiments, and at times surprising you with the strong and powerful yodel.”
Walker's exuberant notices were even stronger for his followup album, 2020's Glad You Made It. In his Rolling Stone rave, Joseph Hudak wrote, "It’s Walker’s voice that ties it all together. His is a classically country voice, full of quavers and cracks. He yodels to open the track 'Loving Country,' and stretches out the word 'peace' into one 12-second note in 'Voices.' In the marvelous 'True Love,' he pops and hiccups his instrument like Dwight Yoakam." As for Walker's most recent album, the newly released See You Next Time, Saving Country Music stated, "When you think of music from Texas, you think of Austin, or Fort Worth, or even Lubbock first, while Dallas is known for a football team and cover bands. But Joshua Ray Walker is helping to change that with a troika of albums that have put him at or near the top of today’s independent country performers saving country music."
Born in Rochester, New York, Sarah Shook taught herself piano at age nine and acoustic guitar in high school, and after her family's relocation to North Carolina, she started her first band – Sarah Shook & the Devil – in 2010. Soon after releasing 2013's seven-song EP Seven, the group disbanded, at which point Shook recruited Devil guitarist Eric Peterson for her new outfit Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, which recorded its debut record Sidelong in 2015. Named one of 2015's “50 Essential Albums” by Saving Country Music, the release was named number two on Indy Week's “25 Best Albums of 2015” chart, with BuzzFeed Community consequently naming Shook as one of five female artists most impacting the country-music scene.
With her ensemble also boasting Aaron Olivia on upright bass and Phil Sullivan on pedal steel, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers released its sophomore album Years in 2018, and beyond Rolling Stone naming its song “Good as Gold” one of its 10 best country/Americana songs of the week, the album itself was the beneficiary of glowing reviews. Calling Years “a bracing listen,” the Chicago Tribune wrote, “Guitars, bass, and drums frame and accent the vocals rather than overwhelm them, bridging the worlds of punk grime and honky tonk played on sawdust floors.” Meanwhile, the ensemble's latest recording Nightroamer was released this past spring, and inspired Saving Country Music to state that "whether you’re a country fan, or an indie rock fan, or just a fan of good music, you will find multiple songs ... that appeal to you." In addition to returning members Peterson, Oliva, and Sullivan, Will Rigby joins Sarah Shook & the Disarmers on drums for the album, and there are additional tracks from organist Skip Edwards.
Joshua Ray Walker and Sarah Shook & the Disarmers play their combined headlining concert in Davenport on June 22, admission to the 7 p.m. event is $25, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
