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Joshua Ray Walker Announces New Record ‘Ain’t Dead Yet,’ Releases New Single “Capital Letters”
A new record from Joshua Ray Walker is coming soon.
Joshua Ray Walker has been on a roll of releasing new music, announcing a brand new record off the heels of his October 2025 concept album, Stuff. Stuff came after the light-and-air island-inspired melodies from Tropicana, and while this record was an anthem for me last summer, it was penned during a very dark time in his life.
The country music world was shaken to its core when Walker announced he was diagnosed with colon cancer back in 2023. Things took a dive for the worse after 6 months of chemotherapy when he was told the cancer had spread to his lungs and moved to stage 4, but, near miraculously, it turns out some of the worries were for nothing. In October of last year, he went in for a biopsy, and doctors discovered that the original diagnosis was incorrect and there was no sign of cancer in his lungs.
Even better, they were unable to find evidence that there was cancer anywhere in his body, which doesn’t mean he’s out of the woods, but beginning the road to remission is literally the best news any of us could have hoped for. After getting that great news, he began treatment for his 3B colon cancer.
Walker penned Tropicana while he was undergoing treatment, and could only think of warm island breezes and clear waters under the harsh hospital lights. But that was not the only album that Walker conceptualized while he was in the thick of cancer treatment—Stuff being the second installment. For Walker Tropicana and Stuff make up two sides of the proverbial coin. Hospitals are harsh and sterile, leading Walker to need an escape from the fluorescent lights. Stuff, on the ladder, was filled with thoughts of Walker contemplating his own legacy.
After his misdiagnosis, Walker wanted to push himself creatively in whatever time he had left. While he thought he had cancer in his lungs, he vowed to release three records in whatever time he had left, with Stuff being the second. Today, Walker announced the final chapter of this trilogy, Ain’t Dead Yet, out everywhere on May 29th.
Ain’t Dead Yet will feature some of Walker’s deepest and most personal storytelling, as he started writing the album before receiving the news that rearranged and threatened his life. While Walker has a clean bill of health now, that year led to the “Voices” singer being filled with challenges mentally, physically, and he was reckoning with the thought that he would not be on Earth much longer.
“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,” Walker 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.”
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Ain’t Dead Yet offers a more somber tone, capturing the highs and lows of the last three years of Walker’s life. It’s a reflection of his feelings now, standing on the other side, while 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.
I faced death; I almost lost my house; I got engaged; We lost most of our belongings to flood and mold; I’ve had loved ones die; I almost lost my entire music catalog. It’s been a lot, good and bad. I’m just a much different person. I’m very intentional with my time, and I’m a lot happier, even though things have been hard, I genuinely do think I’m happier. It’s been a pretty wild transformation.”
To kick off this final chapter, Walker gifted fans with the first single from this project, “Capital Letters.” The song features Walker’s signature thick twang, but the melody has a melancholy feel, as he penned it alongside John Pedigo to thank some of his greatest mentors. Written in honor of his grandpa and Trey Johnson, co-founder of Walker’s of first label, the lyrics honor the roles these long-gone loved ones played. In the same breath, it’s also an inner dialogue, in which Walker often speaks to himself, seeking their advice, friendship, and longing to connect with them again.
“Everything’s drawn in capital letters
Scrawled out by strong but shaky hands
It doesn’t matter how short or tall the letter
As long as the reader understands
Well who’re you talking to?
Do they look like you?”
“Capital Letters” is a strong start to Ain’t Dead Yet and shows the depth that Walker possesses as a songwriter.
Check it out:
Joshua Ray Walker – 2026 Tour Dates
March 20-25 – Outlaw Country Cruise – Miami, FL
March 29 – The Post – Fort Worth, TX
March 30 – Dan’s SilverLeaf – Denton, TX
March 31 – McGonigel’s Mucky Duck – Houston, TX
April 1 – Saxon Pub – Austin, TX
April 18 – Gruene Hall – New Braunfels, TX
May 14 – Birthplace of Country Music – Bristol, VA
May 15 – The Grove – Glasgow, KY
May 22 – Kerrville Folk Festival – Kerrville, TX
May 26 – Knuckleheads – Kansas City, MO
May 27 – Off Broadway – St. Louis, MO
May 28 – Schubas – Chicago, IL
May 29 – Turf Club – St. Paul, MN
May 30 – Appleton Beer Factory – Appleton, WI
June 3 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY
June 4 – Iron Horse Music Hall – Northampton, MA
June 5 – Middle East Upstairs – Boston, MA
June 6 – Milkboy – Philadelphia, PA
June 7 – Pearl Street Warehouse – Washington DC
July 10 – Norsk Country-Treff – Breim, NOThe post Joshua Ray Walker Announces New Record ‘Ain’t Dead Yet,’ Releases New Single “Capital Letters” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.