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Meet Toby Walker
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1st place winner of the International Blues Challenge Award, and someone who will keep this rich, American heritage, and a part of our collective musical history going forward for generations to come.
I may play the blues (and other forms of roots music), but I always leave the audience HAPPY!!!
Toby gave me an experience I’ll never forget. In less than one minute, Toby had my rapt attention for the next 2 hours. He opened my eyes to a genre of music, rich in feeling and delivered with technical perfection. People around me drove miles to hear Toby perform. The room was filled with folks totally engaged in his performance, as if they were watching Monet paint a masterpiece."
Bob Sturm.... a new fan
Bob Sturm.... a new fan
No, I didn't learn the blues from YouTube, or books, or records, although the latter helped me a lot with my ear! I REALLY learned the music, and how to play it my own way by traveling back and forth for four years to Mississippi just to cut his teeth with James 'Son' Thomas from Leland, Jack Owens from Bentonia, R.L. Burnside from Holly Springs, and Eugene Powell from Greenville. I even picked up a few pointers playing with Bob Margolin who was Muddy Water's guitar player for several years.
Here I am learning from Eugene Powell during one of my visits. You'll hear him saying 'That's right, that's right.'
Here I am learning from Eugene Powell during one of my visits. You'll hear him saying 'That's right, that's right.'
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"You play them blues real good. I want you to carry them on for me."
Eugene Powell |
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I took a song that Eugene taught me and performed it live on Sirius XM radio:
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"As a blues guitar player, I am stunned and in awe of Toby Walker's pickin'! Not only does he master diverse blues styles, but plays them with both flash and depth. That's the advanced class -- few players can do both. 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 |
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"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 and founder of the Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp. |
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"Toby Walker is a fingerstyle guitar virtuoso, especially adept at blues, rags and hot country picking."
Happy Traum of Homespun Music Instruction. You can find Toby's instructional DVD's on this Homespun Website
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Click on the pictures to read more about these awards.
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Would you like to download and/or stream some of my music? Here are some of my mp3's that you can do that with.
Here's Bob Margolin backing me up on one of my original songs called 'You Got Something On The Side.'
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Years ago I attended a picnic hosted by the Mississippi Blues musician Othar Turner. He sang this tune which inspired me to do my own version it - Glory Glory Hallelujah.'
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Here I am on WUSB radio performing a song that I learned first hand from Jack Owens of Greenville Mississippi. It's called 'Keep On Grumblin.'
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W.C Handy's story of hearing a man playing 'weird' music while singing the phrase 'Where The Southern Meets The Dog' inspired me to come up with this original.
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'I Hope I Get To Heaven' is another original played on my 1930 National Resonator. There's some mighty fine harp playing by my friend Bob 'Hootch' Paolucci.
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"An acoustic gem"
London Sunday Times
Toby Walker is brilliant. Great playing, great singing, great tunes and great sound. Congratulations on a wonderful job."
Larry Campbell - sideman to Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, Phil Lesh and Lifetime Achievement Instrumentalist Award Winner.
"Your music is just fantastic and beautiful."
...Sam Phillips, Sun Records.
London Sunday Times
Toby Walker is brilliant. Great playing, great singing, great tunes and great sound. Congratulations on a wonderful job."
Larry Campbell - sideman to Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, Phil Lesh and Lifetime Achievement Instrumentalist Award Winner.
"Your music is just fantastic and beautiful."
...Sam Phillips, Sun Records.
For full text, click on the article picture.
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More about me
_Internationally and nationally acclaimed Toby Walker has been hailed as a roots music fingerstyle guitar wizard who has toured the US, England, Wales, France, Scotland, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Cyprus, Canada, and Holland. Walker has been featured in the New York Times, the London Sunday Times, the London BBC, Sirius-XM radio and was the 1st place recipient of the International Blues Challenge Award - Solo division - given out by the Blues Foundation in Memphis TN.
Walker blends the styles of blues, ragtime, country, bluegrass, rock and old time jazz into his own unique style. Jorma Kaukonen of Hot Tuna and the Jefferson Airplane says "Flat out... you have to hear this great musician... I'm blown away" and has employed Walker to teach at his famous Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp for several years. In 2010 Walker won the NY Music Award for 'Best Instrumental CD,' sharing the honors with Mariah Carey, Rufus Wainwright and Judy Collins among many others.
Walker has recently released several instructional guitar DVD's for the world famous company Homespun Tapes which have been getting rave reviews. His latest CD release - 'Mileage' - has been hailed as a shining success in the genre of traditional blues recordings.
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.
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.
Walker blends the styles of blues, ragtime, country, bluegrass, rock and old time jazz into his own unique style. Jorma Kaukonen of Hot Tuna and the Jefferson Airplane says "Flat out... you have to hear this great musician... I'm blown away" and has employed Walker to teach at his famous Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp for several years. In 2010 Walker won the NY Music Award for 'Best Instrumental CD,' sharing the honors with Mariah Carey, Rufus Wainwright and Judy Collins among many others.
Walker has recently released several instructional guitar DVD's for the world famous company Homespun Tapes which have been getting rave reviews. His latest CD release - 'Mileage' - has been hailed as a shining success in the genre of traditional blues recordings.
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.
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 "Learning From 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
2015 Long Island Sound Award from the Long Island Music Hall of Fame
2014 Inducted into the N.Y. Blues Hall of Fame
2010 NY Music Award For Best Instrumental Album
2009 Bronte Blues Award - England
2006 NERFA Formal Showcase Performer
2002 International Blues Challenge Award presented by The Blues Foundation
2014 Inducted into the N.Y. Blues Hall of Fame
2010 NY Music Award For Best Instrumental Album
2009 Bronte Blues Award - England
2006 NERFA Formal Showcase Performer
2002 International Blues Challenge Award presented by The Blues Foundation
Selected Articles
Selected Clubs, Theaters, Coffee Houses
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Crossroads Cafe, Belgium
Bottleneck Blues Club, England Otterton Mill, England The Harborside Club, England New Forest Arts Centre, England The Musician, England Oranges, England The Filo, England Sutton Blues Collective, England New Crawdaddy Blues Club, England Amsterdam Folk Club, Holland Pough Arts Centre, England Brandford Coffeehouse, CT Steeple CH, MA Rams Head On Stage, MD The Mainstay, MD West Side Cafe, MD Second Story Coffeehouse, MD Avalon Theater, MD Hurdy Gurdy Folk Music Club, NJ The Minstrel, NJ Outpost In The Burbs, NJ The Sanctuary, Chatham, NJ Music at the Mission, NJ Pilton Church Hall, England Bridgewater Arts Centre, England The London Resonator, England Marble Valley Correctional Center, VT Unitarian Church Concert Series, VT B.B. Kings, NY The Makor, NY Joe’s Pub, NY Folks City, NY Caffe Lena, NY Fur Peace Ranch Music Hall, OH North Elk Coffeehouse, MD Suffolk Theater, NY Perkasie Patchwork Concerts, PA The Ship Theater, England The Prince Albert, England Notes From Home Concerts, NJ Our Times Coffeehouse, NJ Bullfrog Blues Club, England The Gaiety, Devon, England Wyndam Arms, Kingsbury, England |
Merkin Hall, NY
Carnegie Hall, NY Bull Run, MA The Turning Point, NY Blackstone River Theater, RI The Towne Crier, NY Silus Series House Concerts, NJ Musical Lairs House Concerts, PA Cozy Cabins House Concerts, NJ Empty Nest House Concerts, NJ Heights House Concerts, NJ Jalopy, NY Boulton Theater, NY Vail-Levitt Theatre, NY Jamie's House Of Music, PA Sacadaga Valley Coffee House, NY Ontario Ctr For The Performing Arts, NY The Bottom Line NY MusicFest Cafe, Bethlehem, PA PSALM Salon, PA Steel City Coffeehouse, PA Dean Center, 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 Seven Oaks Guitar Festival, England Burnette’s Hill Chapel, Wales Tarrytown Music Hall, NY Landmark Theater, NY Groovin' in New Fairfield, CT Oswego Music Hall, NY Newbury Arts Center, England Worthenbury Village Hall, England Dorchester Arts Centre, England The Anchor, England South Orange Performing Arts, NJ Baldwin Station, MD The Beehive, England Blues Front Blues Room, England Lynton Church Hotel, England |
Selected Festivals and Concert Series
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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 Blues On The Farm, England Beauvai Blues Festival, France Terri'Thouars Blues 2014, France Ockstadt Blues, Germany Dogwood Blues Festival, GA Western Maryland Blues Festival, MD Rockville Wine and Music Festival, MD Fallfest, MD Split Level Concert Series, NJ Music at the Mission, NJ University Cafe, Stony Brook, NY Warwick Blues Festival, NY Long Island Bluegrass Festival, NY Downtown Festival Series, Glen Cove, NY Bound For Glory, NY Long Beach Jazz and Blues Festival, NY Long Island’s 1st Blues Festival, NY |
Great South Bay 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 Smithtown 2nd Annual Blues Festival, NY Columbus Blues Festival, OH Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch, OH Philadelphia Folk Festival, PA Spring Gulch Folk Festival, PA Bethlehem MusikFest, PA Bucks County Blues Festival, PA PocoNotes Concert Series, Scranton, PA Longwood Gardens, PA W.C Handy Awards Festival, TN Blast Furnace Steel Stacks, Bethlehem, PA |
Societies and Art Centres
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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
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_Fur Peace Ranch, OH
Swannanoa Gathering, NC Woody Mann’s Acoustic Sessions, NY National Guitar Workshop, CT Philadelphia Folk Festival Guitar Workshop, PA Shaker Meadows Guitar Camp, NY Folk Project, NJ Sam Ash Guitar Clinic, NY Clinic at Ithaca Music Works, NY Huntington Folk Music Society, NY Long Island Fingstyle Guitar Club, NY Cornell University, NY Stony Brook University, NY IS 235, NY Woodlands Middle School, NY Weber Middle School, NY MS 571, NY MS 223, NY |
JHS 157, 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 West Side School, NY |
Recorded With
Television
Duck Dynasty
News 12 Long Island
The Blues Show....Springfield, MO
Art Scene Long Island
Cablevision's Wes Houston Presents
The Guitar Show with Mike Byrnes
News 12 Long Island
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
Guitar Instensive - Bar Harbor Maine
Swannanoa Gathering
Woody Mann's Acoustic Sessions
National Guitar Workshop
Carnegie Hall 'American Roots Music' in the schools
Guitar Instensive - Bar Harbor Maine
Swannanoa Gathering
Woody Mann's Acoustic Sessions
National Guitar Workshop
Carnegie Hall 'American Roots Music' in the schools
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.