Sponsored article by Lydia Sylvia Martin
Seth Walker is coming to the Arts Barn this November, and I can’t wait to hear him. I had the opportunity to speak to Seth this week about his new album, Why the Worry. We discussed themes that stay with us through time, recovering from the impact of Hurricane Helene, and what it’s like to see songs travel from your imagination to the hands and voices of other artists.
I’m listening to the official video for Why the Worry right now, with collage style graphics of birds and trains, and even a smiling face below the steam rising from a teacup. It’s soothing and warm, with a relaxing groove that speaks to the worries we all experience. You can check out his album online. It’s certainly a great sound to go along with these cool, moody autumn days.
Here’s a bit of our interview, and I hope to see all of you at the Arts Barn, November 14th at 8 PM!
L.M.: You’ve made twelve albums over the years. What do you think has stayed constant over the years? From your first album to this most recent album, what has NOT changed?
S.W.: I guess an underlying connectivity of myself and the music, and its connection with the listeners. I think that thing… I think that kind of undercurrent, honestly, is probably the engine, or this… you know, the energy source for most of it.
L.M.: Mmm-hmm.
S.W.: And on top of that I would say, I guess, my curiosity. You know? And how I relate to it, and I change through it. But curiosity can be… It changes in itself, but that seems to be a throughline.
L.M.: Well, do you think that that curiosity has kept you able to keep creating more, so that you don’t just get bored with what you’re doing?
S.W.: Oh, yes for sure. For sure. I’m just that kind of artist or personality, really. I’ve moved around a lot, I’ve moved to so many different cities, I like so many different types of music, and I just, I can’t sit still.
L.M.: Right. Well, cool, thank you. Yeah, what would be the point of just…staying exactly the same?
S.W.: Yeah, amen.
L.M.: My second question is: with this theme of why worry so much, did the pandemic influence that at all, like the creation of the album or the themes of it?
S.W.: I started recording that record around the end of 2023…
L.M.: Ok, so it was a little later.
S.W.: It was a little later. My record I Hope I Know, that actually, I cut that right in the middle of covid and a breakup, it was all one…time. Why the Worry, I recorded that a little bit later. A big factor in the timeline of that record was the hurricane: Hurricane Helene.
L.M.: Yeah. Yeah, one of my friends lost most of his business from that.
S.W.: Oooff, rough. Rough. Yeah, I almost didn’t finish this album. I was about halfway through it, or maybe even further than that, and I don’t know, that whole hurricane just like, sent us all sideways, and I wasn’t quite sure where my spirit was or how much energy I had, or where – to rephrase – where to put my energy.
L.M.: Interesting.
S.W.: But I actually had a talk with my friend Oliver Wood, who I write a lot with, and he’s produced one of my albums, and I remember talking to him just about the whole situation and how, kinda, I felt a little hopeless and helpless on how to contribute. And he gently reminded me that the music can be a healer through it, too. So that kind of helped me reset and get back on track with the record
L.M.: I like that…That’s important: to know why you’re doing it.
S.W.: Yeah. And then the whole mantra of Why the Worry,… it’s so hard not to, isn’t it?
L.M.: Mmm-hmm.
S.W.: But it doesn’t serve us.
L.M.: Right.
S.W.: You know, it’s-
L.M.: Well I was just asking my sister last night, we were just talking about how tired we are, and… is it normal to be this stressed out?
<<laughing>>
S.W.: Man, I know, I know. I mean, everybody’s situation’s different but we’re all like…I don’t know, it might be a lot of, culturally, especially in this country…
L.M.: Yeah.
S.W.: I just got back from Italy, where everything is like, on a slower pace, dude. It’s just so nice. This whole notion that, you know – that we haven’t arrived yet? Figuratively? I’m just so tired of that.
L.M.: I agree.
S.W.: You’ve just gotta be in the moment, man, and there’s nothin’ out there that you can fix, that you’re not… that you’re not working on in this very moment. That’s a hard one. That’s a daily practice.
L.M.: Well, thank you. And I’ve got one more question for you. When other people sing your songs, do you have thoughts about that? What do you think about other people picking up your song and recording it or singing it themself, what do you like, or has anything ever happened that maybe you didn’t like?
S.W.: Hm. That’s the first anyone’s asked me that. It’s very flattering. I’m quite honored when someone wants to do one of my tunes. And I find it pretty cool to see how they do things differently with it, that’s for sure.
L.M.: Okay.
S.W.: Yeah, I’ve had…(chuckling)… some of them have been more interesting, I’ll put it at that. Interesting take on it. Maybe taking it to another place? But man, when someone’s… like there’s this guy that, rest his soul, his name was Raul Malo, and he was in a band called the Mavericks, I don’t know if you know that group, but –
L.M.: It sounds familiar…
S.W.: Yeah. Amazing, I mean, they’re Grammy award winning, just huge. Amazing voice, and he was Cuban. And we’ve written some songs together. And to hear that band sing those songs, and to hear him sing those songs… that we wrote, sittin’ around a coffee table one morning…That’s, really really kinda exciting, and it’s kinda… getting shot out of a rocket…
L.M.: Yeah, that’s really, really cool. And, was that sung with Sierra Ferrell?
S.W.: Yeah, that’s one of them that I wrote with Raul, called “Moon and Stars.” And to hear her sing one of my songs is pretty wild as well, of course, because I’m an uber fan.
L.M.: Well, cool. And it looks like you’ve got a really cool tour coming up, and we’re going to be seeing you on November 14th at the Arts Barn.
S.W.: Well, I hope you can come!
L.M.: Yeah, I definitely will.
SETH WALKER-Arts Barn Concert Series
Soulful blues with heart, grit, and gospel-rich vocals
Saturday, November 14, 2026, 8 p.m.
Arts Barn, 311 Kent Square Rd., Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Box Office 301-258-6394
