Album Notes

Nancy Walker is first and foremost a performing songwriter with a message that is compelling and inviting. She possesses a strong, distinctive alto voice that peals "like a bell" (Dirty Linen) through any musical arrangement; a voice that has been described by musicHound folk - The Essential AlbumGuide, in its 1998 issue as "memorable". As a former member of the Chicago-based trio "Sons of the Never Wrong", Nancy has shared stages with the likes of John Gorka and Livingston Taylor, and appeared on the big folk festival main stages: Kerrville in San Antonio, and the North American Folk Alliance in Toronto. The Group's CD ("Consequence of Speech"), garnered both sales prominence and critical acclaim worldwide (at one time topping at#6 on BBC's British Folk Charts in 1997). This led to a relationship with Waterbug Records for Nancy, and in turn to associations with other cutting-edge Folk performers, such as Sloan Wainwright and Michael Jerling.
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Nancy Walker is at her best as an organizer, and if her song craft has earned her distinction, her leadership talents are a quality that makes her distinctive. She has applied a generous dose of business and marketing principles (to indie musicians, an occupation that frequently could not be more at odds with this); added a helping of Midwestern common sense; and the result is "Female Songwriters You Wanna Hear": a congenial collective of outstanding artistic women who put forth a variety of original music and, more often than not, harmonize on each other's melodies. By setting up the forum and the springboard, the talent is given a chance to grow. In the Midwest, the roster has included Cathy Braaten and Kelly Kessler (from the Texas Rubies), and many others. Now in residence in the Northeast, a second "FSYWH" chapter (including Lani Richards and Barb Matthews) is now forming, performing, and networking. And Nancy Walker is a master at networking most of all: currently as an active member and volunteer with The Saratoga County Arts Council, and always with a highly discerning eye for skill in the music industry.
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The highly anticipated release of "Layers of Rust and Time" should add further credit and accolades to what has already been a highly credentialed biography for Nancy Walker. She could always write her own ticket, but Nancy considers it only part of the joy of the music: it is the ability to bring people along on her journeys-both colleagues and audiences-that will for her be the best measure of her accomplishments.