Joshua Ray Walker Is Back With Beach-Minded New Album, Announces Summer Tour

Joshua Ray Walker is getting ready for summer with a new album, bouncing back in full spirit and a tour announcement.

Walker is releasing Tropicana on Friday, June 13. The album was written during treatment for stage 3B colon cancer, imagining ocean breezes and sandy beaches while he was at home undergoing chemotherapy. Just by the look of the smile on Walker’s face on his album cover, this leans into the sunshine, trading honky tonks for hammocks. With the show of strength through enduring chemo treatments and surgeries, the songs are a rallying cry of resilience.

"I was at home for a year, without the ability to play shows or even take a vacation," Walker explains in a press release. "Since I couldn't leave town and go see a palm tree in real life, I started writing about them."

The tracklist screams tropical twang, with Walker getting inspired by Jimmy Buffet, George Strait and the peak days of ‘90s country music. These songs share a common location, a fantasy beachside hotel called The Tropicana. "It's the sort of place where you can order a piña colada at the pool bar and go wander down a nondescript beach," Walker says. "I couldn't go to the beach, so I decided to bring the beach to me."

See the tracklist below:

1. “Tropicana”
2. “Keys to the Tacoma”
3. “Laguna”
4. “Dance With Who You Came With”
5. “I Don’t Wanna Be Alone”
6. “Heavy Stones”
7. “Dirty Laundry”
8. “Whiskey to My Heart”
9. “Novella”
10. “I Hope I Have Fun Dying”

In 2023, Walker learned the news of his cancer diagnosis just before boarding a flight to Los Angeles. After making a few calls to family, he traveled to L.A. to perform his powerful version of Lizzo’s “Cuz I Love You” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! That Dec. 5, 2023 performance was remarkable, clearly showing someone who needed an escape from reality and giving everything he had in the tank.

Walker couldn’t travel for shows. All he could do was head to producer John Pedigo's house. The two created a world where Texas meets Florida, a blend of heat, humidity, cowboy boots and flip-flops. The Tropicana doesn't exist in one locale, even though cities like Panama City and Laguna Beach are mentioned in the nine songs. "We did that on purpose," Walker says of the album's cross-country imagery. "We didn't limit it to one specific space, because Tropicana is wherever you want it to be."  You can purchase tickets to his tour here. His forthcoming summer dates are below.

June 12 – Houston, Texas – The Armadillo Palace
June 13 – San Antonio, Texas – The Lonesome Rose
June 14 – Austin, Texas – Sagebrush
June 24 – Los Angeles, California – The Desert 5 Spot
June 27 – Queens, New York – Gottscheer Hall
Aug. 14 – Little Rock, Arkansas – Revolution! Music Room
Aug. 15 – Memphis, Tennessee – Hernando's Hideaway
Aug. 16 – Indianapolis, Indiana – Duke's Indy
Aug. 17 – Ferndale, Michigan – The Loving Touch
Aug. 19 – Cleveland, Ohio – Beachland Ballroom & Tavern
Aug. 21 – Nashville, Tennessee – Skinny Dennis
Aug. 24 – North Charleston, South Carolina – Marcus King Band Family Reunion