This week DeBraun Thomas profiles Beth Walker, lead singer of the Blind Corn Liquor Pickers.
Beth Walker is a native of New Haven, Kentucky who moved to Lexington in 2007. As a child she was surrounded by loud records being played by her parents and really liked to sing. It wasn’t until she got to middle school when got an opportunity to show how she sang.
“I remember the first time that anybody ever heard me sing, I was in 7th grade and I was singing Hark the Herald Angels sing in the corner of the room and my teacher was like ‘will you stay after class and sing that song for me’ and I sang it for her and she’s like ‘I’m gonna let you sing this in front of the school’ so that’s like the first time, you know, I can remember my brother when we were kids just yelling at me ‘shut up, shut up, shut up, stop singing, shut up, and now he’s one of my biggest fans [laughs].”
A few months after moving to Lexington and spending her free time at open mics, Walker became the lead vocalist for the Blind Corn Liquor Pickers. In 2012 the band its third album Myths & Routines recorded at Shangri-La Productions here in Lexington. While time can be hard on many groups, Walker says bands family like orientation is what will keep them moving forward into the future.
“I would really love for us to get back into the studio, that’s another thing with being professional musicians, that costs money and our drummer moved to Nashville, our rhythm guitarist lives in Louisville and we’re only doing shows that are like ‘ok, is it worth the drive for him to come from Nashville’ cause what we are now is what we are, the members we have, I can’t imagine not playing with them.”
In addition to being a working band, Walker and the group have worked hard to contribute more than just music in Lexington. In 2014 the band spearheaded a project to create a new music festival called the Moonshiner’s Ball. The festival will be held again this year at Homegrown Hideways in Berea and the experience not just of putting together the festival, but performing at it as well is something Walker says is unlike anything else.
“We think there is an immense amount of talent in Lexington alone and that doesn’t include Louisville and Paducah, like, the fact that those people open their land up to let beautiful people come there and the music and when you’re on that stage singing and it rings out through the whole holler and the view that you have, there’s not much like it.”
Beth Walker performs with The Blind Corn Liquor Pickers and is currently working starting a solo project. The Blind Corn Liquor Pickers will be performing at Cosmic Charlie’s on January 24th for Halfway to the Moonshiner’s Ball. More information about Walker and the band can be found on facebook and here.
