A good many artists have toiled forever and never achieved the critical acclaim that has been heaped on Texas singer/songwriter Walker Lukens over the past five years. Sadly, a disproportionate amount of those accolades have been lavished upon Walter Lukens, in yet another glaring example of Google unilaterally deciding that most of us can’t even be trusted with a keypad. No, Google, we did not mean Walter Lukens, because we typed Walker Lukens and if you continue to badger people about this, we’re going to wish you a nasty end by way of auto-correct asphyxiation. So there.
Born in Houston and based in Austin, Texas, Lukens received broad exposure with his 2013 debut album, Devoted, which inspired a critical response that identified him as “one of the best songwriters in Texas.” Considering that Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, Robert Earl Keen, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Guy Clark would fit comfortably in that particular category, one would have to consider such praise as ridiculously high. But it’s not hard to understand the compliment after hearing Lukens’ work; there are touches of Lone Star psychedelia and ripping Roots Rock woven into his Folk/Pop fabric, all of it appointed by his crafty lyrics and a voice reminiscent of Anthony Keidis if he’d been born and reared in Texas. And take a look at the cover of Lukens’ third EP, 2017’s Ain’t Got a Reason; he looks like Seth Green strapping on a Fender Jazzmaster and copping a pigeon-toed New Wave Elvis Costello pose.
And it’s not just music journalism wonks lining up behind Lukens. Early on, Lukens met Spoon drummer/producer Jim Eno in an Austin bar and he was so impressed that he invited Lukens and his band, The Side Arms, to record in his studio, Public Hi-Fi. And that implicit endorsement has sent Lukens and his band on any number of cross-country barnstorming tours. Last fall, Lukens finally dropped his sophomore album, Tell It to the Judge, and like any self-respecting phenom, he created his strongest set of songs to date. Alabama Shakes and Sturgill Simpson trembled on this same brink before blowing up; this might be your best chance to see Walker Lukens shine bright on a small stage.
Click here for more info on this free show.
This article appears in Apr 11-18, 2018.