OAK CLIFF — Joshua Ray Walker broke the grim news to those gathered inside the Kessler Theater just before nine p.m. Monday night.
Picking at his acoustic guitar, as he prepared to play “Canyon,” he spoke in the same sort of off-hand, deadpan tone he’d employed for much of the preceding hour.
“If you don’t already know this, it’s gonna be a weird show,” Walker began to scattered laughter. “I’ve been dealing with my own battle of cancer, and I need to give y’all an update. … I got all of my follow-up tests done, and the news isn’t what we’d hoped. I’m going to keep doing what the doctors tell me.
“The cancer has moved into my lungs; I’ll be getting a biopsy next week, and probably starting radiation treatment soon.”
His words seemed to momentarily suck the air out of the room, a hush settling over what was, for much of the 85-minute showcase, a remarkably still and reverently silent audience. Except when it sang along passionately to “Sexy After Dark.” Or shouted words of love and encouragement at the stage, which featured little more than Walker, a chair, a microphone and a small table adorned with two bottles of Topo Chico.
What was meant to be a valedictory performance — “To celebrate kicking cancer’s ass,” as Walker put it — was instead a retrenching, as the Dallas singer-songwriter’s monthly residency (“Thank You for Listening: A Night of Songs and Stories”) continued with its sixth show. The fight was not over; the artist was unbowed.
Nine months have passed since rising country star Walker was diagnosed with Stage 3B colon cancer, which threw his ascendant career into slight disarray, forcing him to spend the year enduring surgery, chemotherapy and, in his words, “a ton of tests, procedures and doctor’s visits.”
Now, as he shared Monday night during his Kessler Theater gig and in a statement on his Instagram page Tuesday morning, Walker’s cancer has spread to both of his lungs. Walker expects, as a result of the aforementioned biopsy, his diagnosis will be re-staged to Stage 4, with radiation treatment likely to follow.
To help defray his out-of-pocket medical costs, support himself financially and allow him to spend time with family and friends as he continues his fight, Walker has launched a GoFundMe campaign, a move he admits on the website he was reluctant to make.
“I admit that my pride is what kept me from asking for help sooner,” he writes in part, “but, given this latest unexpected turn in my cancer status, I’m ready to accept your support if you have the means to help.”
Walker plans to continue performing as he’s able, although it’s not yet known what treatment he’ll require, or what effects treatment may have on his livelihood. Additional dates for his Kessler Theater residency have not yet been announced, but Walker did share from the stage Monday night that he’ll be participating in the Vandoliers’ annual “Friendsgiving” concert, alongside John Pedigo, at the same venue on Nov. 27.
“I’m gonna keep playing as many shows as I can,” Walker said Monday. “But I don’t really know the future looks like.”
Words can often seem small in moments like these, unable to capture the enormity of such life-altering reality. In the end, it was one of Walker’s finely wrought songs — “Voices,” from 2020’s Glad You Made It — which seemed to capture the horror and hope better than anything anyone could say.
“Oh Lord, please give me peace,” Walker sang in his crystalline falsetto, the notes reaching skyward like a plea, a prayer, a hymn.
The poignant request, pried from a song about staring down ending it all, felt even more resonant when the audience joined in, a choir of friends and fans, singing the refrain “How long, how long are you gonna make me wait” back to the man who wrote it, an unbroken circle of yearning, all but willing better days to come.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
