Toby Walker's Bio
"Flat out... you have to hear this great musician... I'm blown away"
- Jorma Kaukonen
Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee
"As a blues guitar player, I am stunned and in awe of Toby Walker's pickin'! Add to that his fine songs and singing and friendly presentation, and it's obvious that Toby Walker is one of the most enjoyable artists in today's Blues World."
...Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin
Guitarist for the late Muddy Waters
"A real killer with fantastic technique. He just knocks me out."
..John Hammond
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"If he doesn't get them with his phenomenal guitar playing or catchy songs, he gets them with his wonderful stories. True entertainers have an engaging spirit that puts a smile on your face. Arlo Guthrie has it, David Bromberg has it, and so does Toby"
- John Platt Host of Sunday Morning Breakfast at WFUV.
Toby’s passion for blues, rags, folk, and other traditional American music drove him to leave an apartment crammed full of recordings, books and instruments for the Mississippi Delta, Virginia and the Carolinas where he tracked down some of the more obscure - but immensely talented - music makers of an earlier era. He learned directly from Eugene Powell, James "Son" Thomas,Etta Baker, and R.L Burnside, among others.
With Larry Campbell
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With Bob Margolin
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With Hans Theesink
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With Mike Dowling
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The talent, passion, and soul of a Toby Walker performance reflects
these travels. Whether it is telling the humorous and heartwarming tales
of other masters, talking about his inspirations, or astounding you
with his mastery, his performances are a feast for the senses. The
audience is moved in ways that delight them long after the encores. You
can catch a taste of these stories on his Web site in "The Masters"
section. But make no mistake about it - he is to be experienced live.
Those fortunate enough to attend one of his shows will vouch for that.
With Pinetop Perkins and Bob Margolin
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With J.J. Cale
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Winning the Memphis International Blues Challenge Award
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With Jorma Kaukonen and G.E. Smith
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The love Toby has for his craft pushes him to share his history and experience where he has performed his Blues In The Schools program,
allowing others to share the sounds, sights, and emotions of his unique
abilities. His teaching credits include, among others, Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch in Ohio and a DVD release with the prestigious Homespun Tapes label called 'Blues Fingerpicking Freedom.' In 2006, Carnegie Hall acknowledged his
rare talents and hired him to augment and teach in their "American
Roots" program aimed at honor level middle school students. This
one-of-a-kind series demonstrates the history of blues music and
traditions, while teaching the history of African Americans as they
migrated from the south into the north.
His mastery of the blues was recognized in Memphis when he won the International Blues Challenge Award.
His mastery of the blues was recognized in Memphis when he won the International Blues Challenge Award.
With Woody Mann
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Learning from James 'Son' Thomas, Bentonia MS
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Learning from Etta Baker, Morgantown, NC
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Teaching at Fur Peace Ranch
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Awards
2010 NY Music Award For Best Instrumental Album
2009 Bronte Blues Awards - Best Acoustic Blues Act and Best Acoustic Guitarist
2006 NERFA Formal Showcase Performer
2002 International Blues Challenge Award presented by The Blues Foundation
2009 Bronte Blues Awards - Best Acoustic Blues Act and Best Acoustic Guitarist
2006 NERFA Formal Showcase Performer
2002 International Blues Challenge Award presented by The Blues Foundation
Selected Articles
Selected Clubs and Theaters
Crossroads Cafe, Belgium
Bottleneck Blues Club, England Otterton Mill, England The Harborside Club, England The Musician, England New Crawdaddy Blues Club, England Amsterdam Folk Club, Holland Steeple CH, MA Rams Head On Stage, MD The Mainstay, MD West Side Cafe, MD Second Story Coffeehouse, MD Hurdy Gurdy Folk Music Club, NJ The Minstrel, NJ Outpost In The Burbs, NJ Music at the Mission, NJ The Jalopy, NY B.B. Kings, NY The Makor, NY Joe’s Pub, NY Folks City, NY Caffe Lena, NY | Merkin Hall, NY
Carnegie Hall, NY The Turning Point, NY The Towne Crier, NY Jalopy, NY Vail-Levitt Theatre, NY Sacadaga Valley Coffee House, NY Ontario Center For The Performing Arts, NY The Bottom Line NY MusicFest Cafe, Bethlehem, PA PSALM Salon, PA Steel City Coffeehouse, PA Godfrey Daniels, PA Sellersville Theater, PA New Daisy Theater, TN Gibson Guitar Lounge, TN The Peabody Hotel, TN Handy Hall, TN The Birchmere, VA The Athenaneum, VA Burnette’s Hill Chapel, Wales |
Selected Festivals and Concert Series
Georgian Bay Music Festival, Canada
Atlin Arts & Music Festival, Canada Sounds Of The World Concert Series, CT Apple Blues Festival, England Tring Blues Festival, England Beauvai Blues Festival, France Dogwood Blues Festival, GA Western Maryland Blues Festival, MD Rockville Wine and Music Festival, MD Fallfest, MD Split Level Concert Series, NJ University Cafe, Stony Brook, NY Warwick Blues Festival, NY Bound For Glory, NY Long Beach Jazz and Blues Festival, NY Long Island’s 1st Blues Festival, NY | Barrier Beach Blues Festival, Freeport, NY
Vally Folk Concerts, NY Wine Press Concert Series, NY Gottagetgone Festival, NY Riverhead Blues Festival, NY Cedar Beach Blues Festival, NY Stony Brook Fiddle Festival, NY NY Rhythm and Blues Festival, NY Blues 2000 Blues Festival, NY Columbus Blues Festival, OH Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch, OH Philadelphia Folk Festival, PA Spring Gulch Folk Festival, New Holland, PA Bethlehem MusikFest, PA Bucks County Blues Festival, PA Longwood Gardens, PA W.C Handy Awards Festival, TN |
Societies and Art Centres
Bridgewater Arts Center, England
Dorchester Arts Center, England South St, Arts Center, England Aldershot West End Centre, England Newbury Arts Centre, England New MIlton Arts Centre, England Worthenbury Blues Society, England Keighly Blues Soceity, England | Amazing Things Art Center, MA
Down East Folk Arts Society, NC Seaside Arts Council, NC Intermedia Arts Center, NY Huntington Folk Music Society, NY Long Island Blues Society, NY Cornell Folk Music Society, NY Landsdown Folk Society, PA Susquehanna Folk Music Society, PA |
Guitar Workshops and Blues in the Schools
National Guitar Workshop, CT
Sam Ash Guitar Clinic, NY Clinic at Ithaca Music Works, NY Long Island Fingstyle Guitar Club, NY Woody Mann’s Acoustic Sessions, NY Cornell University, NY Stony Brook University, NY IS 235, NY Woodlands Middle School, NY MS 571, NY MS 223, NY JHS 157, NY | Weber Middle School, NY
William McKinley I.S. 259, NY Louis Pasteur MS 67 Long Beach High School, NY Herricks Middle School, NY Stimpson Middle School, NY Pulaski Elementary School, NY Northport Middle School, NY Ocean Ave Elementary School, NY Nessaquake Middle School, NY Fur Peace Ranch, OH |
Recorded With
Bob Margolin, Jay Unger, Molly Mason, Albert Castiglia and others
Television
News 12 Long Island
The Blues Show....Springfield, MO
Art Scene Long Island
Cablevision's Wes Houston Presents
The Guitar Show with Mike Byrnes
The Blues Show....Springfield, MO
Art Scene Long Island
Cablevision's Wes Houston Presents
The Guitar Show with Mike Byrnes
Teaching Credits
Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch, Woody Mann's Acoustic Sessions
National Guitar Workshop, Carnegie Hall 'American Roots Music' in the school
National Guitar Workshop, Carnegie Hall 'American Roots Music' in the school
Shared The Bill With:
Richie Havens, Taj Mahal, John Mayall, Bo Diddley, John Hammond, James Cotton, Johnny Winter, Paul Oscher, Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, Bob Margolin, Charlie Musselwhite, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Vaughn, Kenny Neal, Robert Lockwood Junior, Lonnie Brooks, Hans Theesink, Doc Watson, David Bromberg, Mike Dowling, Johnny Copeland, Bobby Radcliff, Savoy Brown, Sonny Landreth, John Sebastian, Chuck Brodsky, Chris Smither, Cliff Eberhardt, Eric Bibb, Roy Bookbinder, Christine Lavin, Cheryl Wheeler, Jack Williams, Pat Wictor, The Kennedys, Rich Furay, G.E. Smith, Woody Mann, Jorma Kaukonen, Larry Campbell, Rory Block, Corey Harris, Tracy Grammer, Laura Love, Duke Robillard, The Kingston Trio and J.J. Cale.
Toby Walker endorses Huss and Dalton Guitars, National Resophonic Guitars, MacPherson Guitars, Hauver Guitars, D'Addario Strings and Rocky Mountain Slides.
