[ATTENDED: May 2, 2018] Ryley Walker
I hadn’t heard of Ryley Walker before this show. I walked in just as his set was starting and it was Ryley in the center of the stage, another guitarist to his right and an upright bassist on his left.
And basically, they were jamming some cool electric guitar solos.
I found out that the bassist was actually Calexico’s bassist Scott Colberg.
They played a few songs, most of which were very long. Walker mentioned his fellow guitarist’s name a few times but I never understood what he said. I’ve since learned his name is Bill MacKay and he is a perfect foil to Walker’s playing.
It wasn’t always obvious who was playing what when they started soloing. And they always sounded great together. Sometimes one of them would solo for a bit as well. like. When it was just MacKay, the soloing was pretty great too.
But mostly he was really funny. His banter was great, talking about eating tacos in Fishtown. He also invited people to come stay with him if they wanted to see him playing in Chicago. But when someone tried to take him up on it, he said he still lived with his mom. Um, he means a roommate. Not his mom. He was really funny.
Walker told us he has a new album coming out and that the single is called “Telluride Speed.” This song has words and it’s also very good. I found myself really enjoying his set by the end.
He’s playing Philly again in December, and might be worth checking out. Maybe I’ll even get a picture of him that’s not blurry.
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