Jason Walker (musician)

Jason Peter Walker (born 1969) is a New Zealand-Australian country musician and writer. His third album, Ceiling Sun Letters (14 June 2010), was nominated for an ARIA Award for Best Country Album. As a writer Walker has published two biographies, Gram Parsons: God's Own Singer (2002) and Billy Thorpe's Time on Earth (2009).

Born in New Zealand in 1969, Jason Walker moved to Sydney at age 18. In 1997 he joined Golden Rough on guitar alongside Brian Crouch on piano, David Orwell on vocals and guitar, Helen Meany on bass guitar and vocals, and Martin McDonald on drums. That group had started two years earlier as a covers band, playing Elvis Costello, Willie Nelson and Gram Parsons material. In 1998 they released their debut album of originals, Twin Firs.

Walker's debut solo album, Stranger to Someone, was issued via Laughing Outlaw Records in October 2001. Delusions of Adequacy's Geoff Parks compared him with Ryan Adams and opined that Walker was "out there on the edges, pushing harder, moving quicker than Adams, who has now become a mainstream media darling." Parks noticed "[Walker's] maturity and songwriting finesse shine through... But it’s on the cover versions featured here that you can hear [his] soul stretching out... [on] this country-fried, cosmic rock album."

As a writer Walker published a biography of Parsons, God's Own Singer, in 2002. He had started the project in 1996 and told Bill Beaver and Steve Wilcock of Triste magazine that "it completely dominated my life. Everything I did hinged upon the availability of working computers and printers so I could work on it whenever I wanted. I even started working on it during my day job, which was really taking the piss. I almost got fired."

Walker released his second album, Ashes & Wine (January 2004), providing lead vocals and lead guitar, with a backing band, the Last Drinks, comprising Crouch on keyboards, Dave Keys on bass guitar, Andrew Lay on drums and Worth Wagers on rhythm guitar. His second biography was of Billy Thorpe: Billy Thorpe's Time on Earth (2009). He followed with his third album, Ceiling Sun Letters on 14 June 2010, which was nominated for Best Country Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2010. Walker's fourth album, All-Night Ghost Town, was issued on 12 August 2016.

• Stranger to Someone (October 2001) – Laughing Outlaw (LORCD-024)
• Ashes & Wine (by Jason Walker and the Last Drinks) (January 2004) - Laughing Outlaw
• Ceiling Sun Letters (14 June 2010) - Laughing Outlaw
• All-Night Ghost Town (12 August 2016) – Lost Highway Records

• Lee, Stewart (12 May 2002). "On record – Music – Pop". The Sunday Times. 
• Mengel, Noel (23 November 2001). "Finding his voice". The Courier-Mail. 
• Mason, Stewart. "Jason Walker. Ashes & Wine". AllMusic. 
• Mengel, Noel (27 March 2004). "Jason Walker and the Last Drinks". The Courier-Mail. 
• Apter, Jeff (18 June 2010). "CD Reviews". The Sydney Morning Herald. 
• Lalor, Peter (29 May 2010). "Music Reviews". The Australian. 
• "Jason Walker – All-Night Ghost Town". Rhythms Music Magazine. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.