It was a hot night in the West End, but thankfully the air conditioning was cool at Denmark Street’s Lower Third. This was Joshua Ray Walker’s first show in London since recovering from stage 3 bowel cancer scare. Judging by his socials, he’s relishing getting back in front of audiences. Walker has been prolific in the intervening period, issuing three albums, the latest of which is the pithily titled Ain’t Dead Yet (2026), which was reviewed enthusiastically in these pages earlier in the year. He had just spent three weeks touring in Scandinavia and was now in the UK for a few dates.
Walker appeared on stage dead on 21:00 and opened his set with a medley of Loving County, complete with yodels, and Bronco Billy, which featured some adept picking. He followed it with Dumpster Diving, prefaced by a tale of its viral life on YouTube, such that it’s now his best-known song. The next song in the set was Dallas Lights, which Walker abandoned at the bridge, telling us the difference between playing solo and playing with his band is that, when he plays solo, he can just stop if he feels he’s had enough of a song.
True Love emphasises Walker’s classic western croon as he squeezes the emotion from his bittersweet tale. The boat show story is one of Walker’s classic narratives as he sets the scene by describing the Texan boat show and the bikini-clad young women his mother used to hire to adorn the boats. The song is full of characters as Walker paints the picture of the aspirant boat owners and the girls of the title. He precedes Ain’t Dead Yet with a long story of his diagnosis with Stage 3 bowel cancer and subsequent operation and chemotherapy. Expecting to be given a clean bill of health, he was knocked back by being advised he had Stage 4 cancer based on some spots on his lungs with a 3–5-year prognosis. He wrote the song in that state of mind before later being pronounced fit. He performed the song beautifully and led the audience in multiple choruses celebrating the defiance of his recovery,
The truck stop and the road are frequent motifs in Walker’s writing. He’s been a keen observer of human behaviour in those locales, man and boy. Lot Lizard and Working Girl both draw colourful characters from that world so you can almost taste the fat friers and smell the diesel. Cowboy, meanwhile, is a funny critique of certain proponents of Western wear.
The set then turns to the new album with the rocking Outlaw, introduced with a funny story of touring in central California and leading into Texas Sober, which is based on California Sober but is essentially Walker riffing with friends on doing what you want. It only serves to emphasise how well Walker draws together humour, empathy and acute observation both in the writing and performing of his songs. After a sweet take on Walker classic Canyon, he rocks out big time on Burn It with its scorched-earth relationship end and “Don’t cry. It won’t do you any good” refrain.
By now he’s taking the show home with a beautiful rendition of the heartbreaking Voices followed by the raunchyish Sexy After Dark. The set closer is Capital Letters, also from the new album, about his grandad Ray. Walker’s description of his late mentor is very moving and lays the ground for the song that follows.
Throughout the night there has been a delighted crowd expressing their love and admiration for the performer. Invited to close their eyes and imagine he’s gone off and come back again, the applause approaches the rapturous. Walker closes with Thank You For Listening, which is, in some ways, his love letter to the fans who come out to see him sing and play.
Support for the show was Oslo’s Malin Pettersen clad in a colourful jumpsuit and armed with an acoustic guitar. An engaging performer, she shared stories with the audience as she sang her songs. With little to change on the stage, she got to play a 40-minute set, of which Queen Of The Meadow, Arkansas and Carolina stood out. She’s back in London later in the year and will have made a few converts tonight.
