life on the road, homelessness, war, peace, life, death, protest, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, Neil Young, The Traveling Wilburys, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Paul Butterfield, Jack Kerouac, George Orwell, Bruce Springsteen, Woody Guthrie
American singer/songwriter Orion Walsh was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. After the death of his father in 1996 he picked up his first acoustic guitar. Desperate for a release, he began to learn to play, sing, and write songs at the early age of 15. After graduating high school, Orion left his home town to head out west to California. He signed to an indie label shortly after, releasing a full length record with his previous band Slow Coming Day and touring the United States for several years. After the band broke up he was faced with a decision, to give up music or continue on. Not willing to give up his dreams, Orion began writing songs without a band. This led him in a more folk direction with his music. Living out of his van for several months at a time, he began writing songs for his first solo album. Many of these songs address issues of homelessness, war, recession, mental illness, imprisonment, life, and death.
After recording his debut full length album "Tornado Lullabies" with producer Aaron Edwards he returned home to Nebraska where the album was mastered in Omaha by Doug Van Sloun (Bright Eyes, Cursive, M.Ward). Independently releasing the album himself in 2008, Orion hit the road shortly after, completing two solo tours of the midwest and west coast. Continuing to release his music independently, Walsh recorded a new EP entitled "Freedom Lost, Freedom Found" in Seattle, Washington in early 2009, which was released on July 4th. Now after having toured the west coast again in support of the new EP he plans on entering the studio in 2010 to record a second full length album.
Buy NEW EP "Freedom Lost Freedom Found" on iTunes
Track Listing:
1. Freedom Lost or Freedom Found
2. Starkweather
3. Football Town
4. Run for the Hills
5. Journey to the Sea
Buy "Tornado Lullabies" on iTunes:
Track listing:
1. Legend of Young Billy
2. Throwing In The Towel
3. The Last American Boy
4. Starting Over on a Western Shore
5. Melt With the Snow
6. Transient Blues
7. Tornado Lullaby
8. When Will They Come for Us
9. The War He Couldn't Win
10. Look Around
Reviews:
"When the deep, heartfelt, expressive lyrics are combined with the perfectly suited instrumentation, the end result is a masterwork of new American folk music. The depth and expression that exude from all of "Tornado Lullabies" have quickly made the album one of my favorite recordings of 2008"
-The Daily Nebraskan
"A truly independent musician who doesn’t have to rely on the handouts of a donor to produce the music he wants to create, freely at will. If you’re looking for a clean break from all the crappy generic music out there, please take a minute out of your day and give Orion Walsh a listen, you won’t regret it. Easily one of the best releases of 2008 in my opinion. This will definitely make my year end “Best of” list. Orion has fine tuned the Americana/folk sound of his elders and made his own beautiful piece of work."
-Indie Vision Music
"Tornado Lullabies juxtaposes peace on chaos, or perhaps it's the other way around. Either way, it's music that dances on the edge between madness and genius and laughs at both. An outstanding listen."
-Wildy's World
"There must be something in the water in Nebraska that it keeps producing powerful folk singers. At this point, I think it’s safe to say almost any indie music lover hears Nebraska and thinks of Conor Oberst, but I think it is time that a new artist’s name becomes synonymous with the state...Orion Walsh."
-Popwreckoning
"Walsh sits firmly in the storytelling singer/songwriter mode on this, his debut album. With rootsy rocking songs such as the album opener “Legend of Young Billy” he rocks and roots like a young Steve Earle and it’s on the more up tempo numbers here that he hits home."
-Americana UK
"Nebraska's Orion Walsh is a fantastic musician in an old country tradition. He seamlessly blends his music between Ryan Adams' paeans to lost love and Johnny Cash-style train's-a-coming-in rambling-man odes. There's a restlessness to his music and a power in his voice, a constant need to keep moving and changing the scenery, which leads to Walsh's status as a musical Zelig, keeping his audiences guessing."
-The Inlander
"It makes sense that Walsh identifies himself with men like Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. His twangy, folk-rock aesthetic sounds as though he could be the grandson of any of them. Yet while the sentiments of the songs remain the same, inevitably the sounds tell of different times."
A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked the stock boy, 'Do these turkeys get any bigger?'
Hey Orion! Thanks for the add. Love your sound - like a mashup of Americana and The Beatles. I'd love to know what you think of my music as we share a lot of influences. Check out a couple of songs and let me know what you think!
Hey Orion I know you probably have a good marketing and promotions guy but I just wanted to throw my name out there, mainly because I love your stuff. I am working with several major artists out of Nashville including a new guy named Jason Wyatt. If you want to increase your sales, increase your exposure, and take this thing world wide, hit me up. We are showing a 97% increase in the first three months give us a chance, and we will melt the face off our competition!
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