Clay Walker will change hats, from a performer to a fan, likely multiple times while on the upcoming Country Music Cruise. The cruise features dozens of performers, including The Oak Ridge Boys and Randy Owen, two of Walker’s biggest inspirations and musical idols.
“The Oak Ridge Boys, as a kid, I grew up singing all their songs on the radio,” Walker tells Everything Nash. “Back then, you could have four or five hits in a year. And Alabama was my first concert. My mom was in love with Randy Owen. I remember standing in the audience in 1982. I was a kid. I was right there beside my mom. My mom was yelling her lungs out. It was sold out at Beaumont Civic Center. And man, they had The Righteous Brothers opening up for them. Every bit of that show is still so burned into my memory. And honestly, it probably influenced me in wanting to be an entertainer, seeing my mom get that excited.”
Walker, who is spending part of the fall out on the road with Tracy Lawrence, on their joint co-headlining tour, loves that he will have the opportunity to hear so many other artists perform while on the Country Music Cruise.
“This business can jade you,” Walker concedes. “You get jaded. We’ll do a festival and there will be seven or eight artists on it. And the toughest part about touring is touring. It’s being in the bus or on airplanes and different things. And so you’re almost too lazy to go out and watch the other artists. I force myself and it’s always worth it.”
Walker has been churning out music since his eponymous freshman album was released in 1993. Still, when he takes the stage with Lawrence, he vows to do the music that everyone has come to hear.
“Tracy and I both have to look at it like a fan does, ’cause we’re both fans of country music too,” Walker tells Everything Nash.. “You know, if I could go see George Strait, I don’t want to hear new stuff … Tracy and I both, we have too many hits to get done in one show, honestly, with both of us on stage, and that’s a good thing. But we also have worked hard, both of us, to make a new album, and there’s a lot of heart and soul that goes into that. And so we won’t fill up the night with new material, but I think both of us will at least do one off of our new record.”
Other artists performing on the Country Music Crusie include John Berry, Neal McCoy, Mark Chesnutt, Asleep At The Wheel, Johnny Lee, Jimmy Fortune, T.G. Sheppard, Gary Morris, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, The Malpass Brothers, Ray Scott and more. The cruise, which takes place from January 22 to 29, 2023, is sold-out. A wait list is available here.
Find all of Walker’s music and upcoming shows at ClayWalker.com.
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