The August 10 release of singer/songwriter Tricia Walker’s newest studio project, “Farther Along,” represents a return to the Gospel music roots that launched the Mississippi native’s professional career over 30 years ago. Two live concerts are planned to celebrate the release of Walker’s eighth studio recording, a collection of hymns and spirituals from the white and black church traditions of Mississippi.
“When I left Mississippi for Nashville in 1980, I was working to break into the contemporary Christian music scene, which was relatively new at the time, “ muses Walker. “ I was signed to my first songwriting contract with a Gospel publisher, and my first professional album project was a collection of original contemporary Christian songs. I supported myself the first couple of years in Nashville by touring solo and performing concerts in churches.”
After the critical success of her Southern-themed “Heart of Dixie” project, Walker wanted to record another group of songs that would return to the themes of reconciliation and redemption that thread through her work.
“I was raised in a small Methodist church in Fayette, Mississippi, where I learned the comfortable and abiding hymns of my youth. But from the porch of our country home place, I could hear songs from a nearby African-American church throughout Sunday afternoons, and they, too, spoke to my soul,” she recalls. “There’s such a rich tradition in both styles of worship, and I wanted to record some of those songs to share with my audience.”
The “Farther Along” project marks the first full-length recording of Walker’s own work in the studios of the Delta Music Institute at Delta State University, where she also serves as director of the music industry studies program. Natchez keyboardist and arranger Alvin Shelby contributed his multiple talents to the project, as did bass player Richard Felton, drummer Vince Barranco, and Delta guitar legend Duff Dorrough. Vocal director Chris Dixon assembled a stellar group of vocalists for background vocals, and a young group of singers from St. Luke’s UMC, the TK Kids, also added their voices to the project.
Two concerts featuring Walker and the musicians on the “Farther Along” project are scheduled for Friday, August 12 at 7:00 pm at Holy Family Catholic Church at 16 Orange Avenue in Natchez, MS and Saturday, August 13, at 7:00 pm at St. Luke’s Methodist Church at 1227 Deering St. in Cleveland, MS. There is no charge for admission and the public is invited to attend. For more information on the concerts and the “Farther Along” recording, please visit www.bigfrontporch.com.
