Abbi Walker : Rising Country and Southern Soul Star

Abbi Walker is a pistol. A wild-eyed, big dreaming, hard working, 4th generation Preacher’s daughter from South Texas with a big voice and plenty to say. Abbi Walker is a fast rising Texas Country and Southern Rock artist, a songwriter with the personality and talent as big and as promising as her home state. Nominated for the Texas Regional Radio Music Awards New Female Artist Of The Year, Walker had both of her first two radio singles break the top 30, and even the top 20, on Texas Radio in the last year. At the same time she has been landing huge gigs opening for the likes of Keith Urban, Tim Mcgraw, Charlie Daniels, and even headlining the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s infamous club “The Hideout”, where she and her band closed out one of the biggest nights of the Rodeo after Miranda Lambert played the arena. In fact, Walker was the only female booked to headline the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s Big Tent this year- a feat in and of itself.

Since the release of her first Country album, “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” in 2012, Walker has been proving herself and her talent to the tough world of Country Music. Walker has been touring with her band for a little over a year and they’ve already played some of the best stages in Texas- The San Antonio Rodeo, The Houston Rodeo, Texas Crawfish Festival, Pat Green’s Venue in Dallas- The Rustic, Sandfest, and many more. The reviews are heartfelt and consistent- “Abbi and her band keep the audience on their feet- dancing, singing along, and asking for more”. Abbi is not just a talented singer, anyone who has seen her show can tell she loves to entertain, to perform- and between her and her band, they make sure everyone, of all ages, is having a great time.

In December of 2014, Abbi raised over $20,000 through crowdfunding to help her record and produce her new full length album, FEISTY, and this brand new 12 song album is set to release on September 1st, 2015. Every song, with the exception of 1 hymn, was written by Walker and co-written with her husband Ryan Petkoff or producer, Rick Alvarez. Walker’s new project FEISTY has southern rock, traditional country, and Abbi’s own brand of Southern Soul- all within the lines of great country music.

FEISTY features some of the best musicians in the great state of Texas, including the pedal steel and dobro work of the legendary Lloyd Maines. Maines, a man of very few words, when asked about the project said, "Abbi Walker is a fresh, new voice around the Texas Music Scene. She and Rick Alvarez have written and recorded some great songs for this record. I'm glad she included me in her music." That’s about as high of a compliment as you can get from Lloyd Maines, who also happens to be the father of Dixie Chicks frontwoman, Natalie Maines.

When asked about this next album, Walker said “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was really just my first try, first step in the right direction. It was a tiny budget for all 6 songs, and I am thrilled that it’s done so well- but this next record will blow that little EP out of the water…. in the best kind of way. In the last 2 years, I have grown a great deal in really knowing who I am as an artist and what I sound like, and my producer, Rick Alvarez, and I are overwhelmingly proud of FEISTY. It has excellence, attitude, and edge.”

A regular performer at the famous Texas Antiques Week’s Zapp Hall, Walker has a way of connecting with the audience that you just don’t see all the time. Whether acoustic or with a full band- she brings all that she’s got, and people respond to her. She travels with some incredible talent, and they put on a fantastic show. A great band is one thing, but a great band that can rock incredible, engaging, original music with a few refreshing covers thrown in, makes for one hell of a show.

Walker has her sights set on the big time, and has been described by her peers as someone who “hustles like no other”. She’s a hard worker, a professional, and someone you just can’t help but root for. She writes her own music. She has plenty to say through thought provoking, honest, funny, and sassy lyrics that she delivers through melodies you won’t be able to get out of your head. Her music is refreshing, original, and outside of the box for both country and Texas Country music. She has soul, spunk, and sass. She’s been independent since day 1, and is doing big things with a strong grassroots fan base behind her. All of this just shows that Abbi Walker is the real deal, and it’s about to get real serious for this artist. It’s about to get real fun.