Dallas singer-songwriter Joshua Ray Walker is making a much-welcome return with a new album, Ain’t Dead Yet, to be released on 29th May 2026 via East Dallas Records/Thirty Tigers. He has also announced a short UK and Ireland tour preceded by a run of dates in Norway and Sweden.
Three years ago, when he started writing Ain’t Dead Yet, Walker hadn’t yet received the cancer diagnosis that rearranged and threatened his life (he currently has a clean bill of health). But that year was still uncommonly fraught with mental, physical, and career stresses. Pulling the songs out of the can to finalise them for the album, including re-writing and re-working almost all the songs, Walker, who was then undergoing and recovering from cancer treatment, was surprised by their prescience.
“That whole year, I just felt awful and like I was dying. I didn’t feel right, and mentally I was off, like there really was something wrong the whole time,” he says. “So, I think the reason some of these songs feel the way they do is because I felt that way, even though I didn’t know something was wrong yet.”
Song ideas come to Walker from many places. He celebrates two of the most personal on Capital Letters. Written for two important mentors, Walker’s grandpa (about whom he wrote his first song ever, Fondly, which was released on his 2019 debut, Wish You Were Here), and Trey Johnson, co-founder of Walker’s first label, the song is Walker’s way of honouring the roles these long-gone loved ones still play in his life. Sometimes he finds himself talking to them, seeking their advice; others, he even wonders if they have some hand in the songs he writes. You can listen to Capital Letters below.
Ain’t Dead Yet is Walker’s time capsule of the past three years. Standing on the other side, it’s also a dedication to the future. “I’m really grateful to have a second chance, and I’m also grateful to have lived through thinking I was going to die. It gives you perspective in a way you really can’t fake until you’ve actually done it; in a way, it was kind of a gift,” Walker says, though sometimes a new beginning also feels like a lot to live up to.”
You can pre-save/ pre-order Ain’t Dead Yet via this link.
Walker has also confirmed he’ll return to the UK and Ireland this summer. Dates are listed below, and you will find ticket links here.
Joshua Ray Walker Tour Dates 2026:
July 28 – The Lower Third – London
July 29 – The Deaf Institute – Manchester
July 30 – The Hug and Pint – Glasgow
Aug 1 – Whelan’s – Dublin
