There were some heartfelt goodbyes to dear friends, but also so many moments of music, laughter, and connection.
My talk show, “Keiko Walker’s Music Box” entered its 3rd year—huge thank you to all the wonderful guests who shared their time and talent. And yes… Annabelle, my dog, helped out again this year lol
I also had the joy of playing many fun gigs with talented musicians.
And also this year, I was happy to start streaming my past recordings and started a new podcast as well.
Thank you to everyone who supported me along the way.
December 21st marked my final live performance of 2025—Keiko Walker’s Christmas Live—and what a joyful way to wrap up the year it was! Sharing the stage with the ever-talented Johnny Saito and Tatsuya Kuwabara made it all so special, and I was truly touched by everyone who came out to join us.
We blended my beloved Christmas carols with bluegrass-inspired instrumentals, featuring Johnny and Tatsuya in some truly magical moments. From Johnny’s lead on Christmas tunes to bluegrass numbers we played together, it was such a fun and heartwarming night! The three of us just clicked—so yes, we’ll be back again next year!
Last night, country guitarist Ken Takeya stopped by and even joined us for a few songs♬
I’m also happy to announce that on February 17th, Johnny, Tatsuya, and Ken will be back at Back In Town for My Birthday Live! It will be joined by YUKITO on bass. Hope to see you there!
And again this year, I was happy to host monthly talk shows and live performances at Stagecoach. Thank you, always, for your support.
And to everyone who came to my shows in 2025—thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m already looking forward to 2026, with many exciting plans in the works. Please stay with me on this journey ❤️
Keiko Walker Journal Vol. 122 December Issue☆November 27th 2025
☆Message☆
Can you believe it’s already December? The Christmas season has arrived, and with it, a flurry of lights, music, and connection. November was a tough one—I had to cancel two shows due to the flu, and I’m truly sorry for any inconvenience that caused. Your understanding means the world to me.
December will be a busy month, and I’m so looking forward to seeing many of you at my upcoming shows! Let’s make this season one to remember. Wishing you all a joyful and cozy holiday!
Did you all listen to Keiko Walker’s Bilingual Podcast!! Our third episode was just released! Our theme for this episode is “Decades of Country: Songs That Shaped the Genre” Podcastが始まりました！！！みんな聴いてくれた？ エピソード3が先週配信されました！テーマは“カントリーの歩み：ジャンルを形作った名曲たち”です！
✳︎I’m truly sorry that I had to skip this month for I lost my voice from the flu! I will be uploading my new episode as soon as possible! 11月はインフルエンザから声を痛めてしまい、更新できず申し訳ございません。 12月はまた更新していきますのでみなさん、聴いてくださいね♬
Songbird and Strings, a new bilingual podcast exploring the stories and sounds of Country Music. Join me as we dive into Country, Rock, Celtic, and Bluegrass, sharing stories about the artists, albums, and songs that make them special. We’ll chat about music history, the latest news, and my own musical journey. Since we can’t play all the great songs on the show, I’ll be creating a special playlist for every episode.
Thank you all so much for listening to “Take Away the Load” from my album “Love Songs” on Apple Music and Spotify! It’s my favorite love song written by “Sandy Denny”, and I’m thrilled it’s reaching your ears. The CD version includes three special tracks, and there’s only one copy left—so if you’re thinking of grabbing it, now’s the time! https://salleygarden.cart.fc2.com/ca55/4/p-r-s/ It’s also streaming on Amazon Music and YouTube Music—happy listening!
Apple MusicやSpotifyで、アルバム『Love Songs』から「Take Away the Load」を聴いてくださってありがとうございます！ この曲は、私が大好きな「Sandy Denny」が書いたラブソングで、心からお気に入りです。 CD版は3曲入りで、なんと残り1枚だけ！気になる方はぜひお早めに！ https://salleygarden.cart.fc2.com/ca55/4/p-r-s/ Amazon MusicやYouTube Musicでも配信中です。ぜひ聴いてみてくださいね♪
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ◆5◆ KEIKO WALKER on Social Media ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Follow KEIKO WALKER on Social Media! KEIKO WALKERのSNSをフォローして情報をいち早くゲットしよう(^^♪
On November 18th, just before our live show at Back In Town on the 20th, I received a message from Seiji letting me know that Mr. Kelly Teramoto had passed away. I found myself in tears throughout the day, as memories kept flooding back…
Today, Stagecoach made the official announcement.
All the Japanese country stars I looked up to as a child—long before I ever became a country singer—have now left us. When I first started singing country music, they were all still active and full of life, and there were so many concerts happening. I had the honor of sharing the stage with legends like Jimmy Tokita, Keiichi Teramoto, Biji Kuroda, Yuki Miyamae, and Yoshio Ohno. They were always there, and now they’re gone.
The last time I saw Teramoto-san was in 2018,(picture 1) when I visited a summer country event hosted by Seiji Katayama. It was a hot summer day, and we sat together in a slightly cooler dressing room, reminiscing about the old days for what felt like hours. The second photo (picture 2)is from 2004, taken backstage at an event in Kyoto hosted by Kenji Nagatomi, where I had the pleasure of performing. I’ve included a few flyers from the many concerts we shared. Photos three and four are from 1993 and 1985. Just a few weeks ago, Takashi Komiyama gave me a DVD of a 1983 concert produced by Teramoto-san—before I even became a singer. I’m going to take my time watching it.
The last photo is a magazine clipping of Japan’s country stars in their younger days. Because of the country scene they built, we’re able to sing today. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
Teramoto-san, thank you for everything. Rest In Peace.
先日、11月20日のBack In TownでのLIVE前に18日に寺本圭一さんが亡くなったと誠史から連絡が入りました。1日中思い出し涙が出てきたり……
Thank you so much to everyone who came tonight 😊 It was a day filled with gratitude—for the teamwork of all the performers, for our wonderful audience, and for the support from the Back In Town staff. Truly, thank you all ❣️
I was deeply moved again by the incredible singing of Momoko and Sara. I’m so glad I invited them!
And since Vol.1 of my Emmylou Tribute, Kazuaki has supported everything—we can always count on him, and that gives me such peace of mind. Tonight, Yukito played one song with the bow, blending beautifully with Johnny’s fiddle. And Johnny, who I asked to bring whatever instruments he could manage, ended up playing four parts! Thank you so much!
I received an album where Emmylou sings Peter Rowan’s song 🩷—produced by Herb Pedersen. It was one I didn’t own, so I was incredibly touched to receive it. Thank you!! 😭
Before the show, sad news of someone’s passing reached me… And when introducing Farther Along, I shared a little about the TRIO from the 1980s with Emi Fujita and Mika Nishiumi, my dearest friends. Remembering Mika, who passed away in July, brought up so many emotions tonight—I almost shed a few tears…
To everyone—thank you from the bottom of my heart. P.S. The hot lemonade 🍋 that Misa left in my dressing room was absolutely delicious 😭
The Big Kanagawa Country Party, produced by Seiji Katayama, was a huge success! My appearance was with my Rock’N Bluegrass Band, which started about two years ago when I first reached out to form a group that reimagines classic rock with bluegrass arrangements. What a blast!
My Girls Night Out member, Chihana, dropped by and joined us for a fun session on “Can’t You See”! And Tamaru Yamada, the guest for my talk show “Keiko Walker’s Music Box” in December, also stopped by to say hello!! And also Wataru Sasa from the Bluegrass Band, Watabows dropped by!!
We received so many kind messages asking us to host another event like this, so let’s have Seiji plan the next one too! We also celebrated Rock’N Bluegrass Band’s Vocalist, Mandolin, Fiddle and Guitar player Johnny Saito’s Birthday!!
I also got tons of photos from everyone—thank you! (And yes… I forgot to take any myself again 😭)
I danced country style for the first time in 30 years, and let’s just say I was feeling it the next day—hello, muscle soreness! Time to get back to training!
Next year, let’s keep the momentum going and bring even more talented musicians into the mix 🤭. We’ll keep lifting up Country and Bluegrass music together!
Thank you again to everyone who came to listen and watch! And thank you for all the lovely gifts and souvenirs ♬
Huge thanks to Seiji Katayama for organizing, to Thumbs Up Yokohama, and to all the performers—great job, everyone!
来てくれたみなさま、本当にありがとうございました！
片山誠史企画のカントリーイベント、Big Kanagawa Country Party大盛り上がりで終了いたしました！2年程前に私が声かけをして始まったクラシックロックをブルーグラスアレンジのRock’N Bluegrass Bandでのイベント出演は初！楽しかったな〜！
Girls Night Outというユニットを私としているChihanaも遊びに来てくれたから1曲「Can’t You See」でセッションに呼び込みました！そして12月の私のトークショー、Keiko Walker’s Music Boxのゲスト、山田タマルちゃんも遊びに来てくれました！！そして、Watabowsの笹渉くんも遊びに来てくれました！！
Keiko Walker Journal
Vol. 121 November Issue☆October 28th 2025
☆Message☆
Now that October’s here, it feels like we’ve skipped autumn and jumped straight into a chilly winter!
I hope everyone’s staying healthy and not catching colds.
November is shaping up to be a super busy month—come join us at the live shows!
Did you all listen to Keiko Walker’s Bilingual Podcast!!
Our third episode was just released! Our theme for this episode is “Decades of Country: Songs That Shaped the Genre”
Podcastが始まりました！！！みんな聴いてくれた？
エピソード3が先週配信されました！テーマは“カントリーの歩み：ジャンルを形作った名曲たち”です！
Songbird and Strings, a new bilingual podcast exploring the stories and sounds of Country Music. Join me as we dive into Country, Rock, Celtic, and Bluegrass, sharing stories about the artists, albums, and songs that make them special. We’ll chat about music history, the latest news, and my own musical journey. Since we can’t play all the great songs on the show, I’ll be creating a special playlist for every episode.
Streaming始まりました！！！みんな聴いてね^_−☆
Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Musicほかで聴けるようになりました！
Listen to Keiko Walker on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music and more!!!
Upcoming Shows
◊2025.10.30 (Thu) 「Big KANAGAWA Country Party2025」 出演: ∗ Rock’N Bluegrass Band（Keiko Walker, 齊藤ジョニー, Johnny YoshiHiro, 桑原達也, おおやまけんじ）
∗愛と誠の志Show Band（坂本愛江,片山誠史,尾崎博志,工藤精,高橋結子）
∗井乃頭蓄音団（ヒロヒサカトー,大貫真也）with 宮下広輔
∗MC：M.M.KING
Place: Thumbs Up Yokohama
OPEN 18:30 / START 19:15 / ADV ¥4300 / DOOR ¥4800 (+order) Tickets
Thank you all so much for listening to “Take Away the Load” from my album “Love Songs” on Apple Music and Spotify!
It’s my favorite love song written by “Sandy Denny”, and I’m thrilled it’s reaching your ears.
The CD version includes three special tracks, and there’s only one copy left—so if you’re thinking of grabbing it, now’s the time! https://salleygarden.cart.fc2.com/ca55/4/p-r-s/
It’s also streaming on Amazon Music and YouTube Music—happy listening!
Apple MusicやSpotifyで、アルバム『Love Songs』から「Take Away the Load」を聴いてくださってありがとうございます！
この曲は、私が大好きな「Sandy Denny」が書いたラブソングで、心からお気に入りです。
CD版は3曲入りで、なんと残り1枚だけ！気になる方はぜひお早めに！ https://salleygarden.cart.fc2.com/ca55/4/p-r-s/
Amazon MusicやYouTube Musicでも配信中です。ぜひ聴いてみてくださいね♪
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◆5◆ KEIKO WALKER on Social Media
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Follow KEIKO WALKER on Social Media!
KEIKO WALKERのSNSをフォローして情報をいち早くゲットしよう(^^♪
Keiko Walker Journal
Vol. 120 October Issue☆September 26th 2025
☆Message☆
It feels like September just flew by, and now Autumn is finally here!
It’s hard to believe we only have three months left in 2025. I’m already looking forward to the holidays—and of course, Happy Halloween!
I have a ton of great events lined up, and I truly hope to connect with all of you before the year is out.
Did you all listen to Keiko Walker’s Bilingual Podcast!!
Our second episode was just released! Our theme for this episode is “Linda Ronstadt: Queen of Country-Rock”
Podcastが始まりました！！！みんな聴いてくれた？
エピソード２が先週配信されました！テーマはカントリーロックの女王：リンダ・ロンシュタッドです！
Songbird and Strings, a new bilingual podcast exploring the stories and sounds of Country Music. Join me as we dive into Country, Rock, Celtic, and Bluegrass, sharing stories about the artists, albums, and songs that make them special. We’ll chat about music history, the latest news, and my own musical journey. Since we can’t play all the great songs on the show, I’ll be creating a special playlist for every episode.
Streaming始まりました！！！みんな聴いてね^_−☆
Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Musicほかで聴けるようになりました！
Listen to Keiko Walker on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music and more!!!
Thank you all so much for listening to “Take Away the Load” from my album “Love Songs” on Apple Music and Spotify!
It’s my favorite love song written by “Sandy Denny”, and I’m thrilled it’s reaching your ears.
The CD version includes three special tracks, and there’s only one copy left—so if you’re thinking of grabbing it, now’s the time! https://salleygarden.cart.fc2.com/ca55/4/p-r-s/
It’s also streaming on Amazon Music and YouTube Music—happy listening!
Apple MusicやSpotifyで、アルバム『Love Songs』から「Take Away the Load」を聴いてくださってありがとうございます！
この曲は、私が大好きな「Sandy Denny」が書いたラブソングで、心からお気に入りです。
CD版は3曲入りで、なんと残り1枚だけ！気になる方はぜひお早めに！ https://salleygarden.cart.fc2.com/ca55/4/p-r-s/
Amazon MusicやYouTube Musicでも配信中です。ぜひ聴いてみてくださいね♪
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
◆5◆ KEIKO WALKER on Social Media
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Follow KEIKO WALKER on Social Media!
KEIKO WALKERのSNSをフォローして情報をいち早くゲットしよう(^^♪
I unintentionally hummed the harmony during ‘Dark Hollow’
I went to see David Grier for the first time in about 30 years!? I think it was in the 1990s when David toured Japan with mandolin player, Kats Miyazaki and Keiko Walker and The Hot Street Band bass player, Nori Hayashi.
It was enjoyable to hear him talk about Sam Bush and Vassar. It’s rare to hear stories about country and bluegrass artists in Japan
The tour just started today! Everyone, please go and experience David Grier’s wonderful guitar tone up close!!!
At the venue, it was so nice to see Bassist Tet-chan and Mandolin player Takeuchi-kun
“Sorry for the slight delay! Thank you to everyone who came! The Keiko Walker Band’s live performance after awhile was so much fun!!
I’m glad we dug up the old songs from Keiko Walker and The Hot Street Band days!! It seems like everyone really liked them ! Ken-chan also came, so we finished with ‘Mystery Train’ as a Twin Telecaster set!
Rock ‘N Bluegrass Band 文:斎藤ジョニー Keiko Walker(Vo,Gt) ジョニーヨシヒロ(Vo,Gt) @yoshi_johnny 齊藤ジョニー(Vo,Gt,Md ) @saitojohnny1027 オオヤマケンジ(Ba) 桑原達也(Bj) @kuwabara_tatsuya
Yesterday was our very first time performing together, and it turned out to be such a fun live show full of laughter!! The all-country setlist was absolutely wonderful!
I was so happy to see that everyone seemed to really enjoy Poncho & Lefty. Back in the days of Keiko Walker & The Hot Street Band, I used to sing it at every show, but for some reason I hadn’t sung it for about 15 years. Recently, I decided to bring it back—it’s one of my favorite songs!
On pedal steel guitar was my dear friend of 35 years, Yasuharu Muranaka, and on guitar was Ken Takeya, who I only met last year but is already a fellow Pink Paisley buddy! We’ll be doing this again next April ♬♬
A big thank-you to everyone who came! The stage photos were kindly shared with me by the audience.
And the dogs who came along were just adorable too! 🐶
Keiko Walker Journal Vol. 120 October Issue☆September 26th 2025
☆Message☆
It feels like September just flew by, and now Autumn is finally here! It’s hard to believe we only have three months left in 2025. I’m already looking forward to the holidays—and of course, Happy Halloween! I have a ton of great events lined up, and I truly hope to connect with all of you before the year is out.
Did you all listen to Keiko Walker’s Bilingual Podcast!! Our second episode was just released! Our theme for this episode is “Linda Ronstadt: Queen of Country-Rock” Podcastが始まりました！！！みんな聴いてくれた？ エピソード２が先週配信されました！テーマはカントリーロックの女王：リンダ・ロンシュタッドです！
Songbird and Strings, a new bilingual podcast exploring the stories and sounds of Country Music. Join me as we dive into Country, Rock, Celtic, and Bluegrass, sharing stories about the artists, albums, and songs that make them special. We’ll chat about music history, the latest news, and my own musical journey. Since we can’t play all the great songs on the show, I’ll be creating a special playlist for every episode.
Streaming始まりました！！！みんな聴いてね^_−☆ Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Musicほかで聴けるようになりました！ Listen to Keiko Walker on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music and more!!!
Thank you all so much for listening to “Take Away the Load” from my album “Love Songs” on Apple Music and Spotify! It’s my favorite love song written by “Sandy Denny”, and I’m thrilled it’s reaching your ears. The CD version includes three special tracks, and there’s only one copy left—so if you’re thinking of grabbing it, now’s the time! https://salleygarden.cart.fc2.com/ca55/4/p-r-s/ It’s also streaming on Amazon Music and YouTube Music—happy listening!
Apple MusicやSpotifyで、アルバム『Love Songs』から「Take Away the Load」を聴いてくださってありがとうございます！ この曲は、私が大好きな「Sandy Denny」が書いたラブソングで、心からお気に入りです。 CD版は3曲入りで、なんと残り1枚だけ！気になる方はぜひお早めに！ https://salleygarden.cart.fc2.com/ca55/4/p-r-s/ Amazon MusicやYouTube Musicでも配信中です。ぜひ聴いてみてくださいね♪
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ◆5◆ KEIKO WALKER on Social Media ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Follow KEIKO WALKER on Social Media! KEIKO WALKERのSNSをフォローして情報をいち早くゲットしよう(^^♪
Coming up in October!! Mr. Ichiyo Kishimoto would be my guest on my October talk event, “Keiko Walker’s Music Box” I’m personally really curious about the history, and the instrument itself so I intend to ask questions!! And as usuall we would be having a mini Live performance at the end so don’t forget to join us on October 9th Thursday!
10月のトーク・イベント、「Keiko Walker’s Music Box」のゲストは大好きなフィドル・プレイヤー、岸本一遥さんです！！フィドルの歴史、そしてBluegrass、Country、Irishなどのお話しなど沢山岸本さんに聞いて行きたいと思います！最後にコラボ・ライヴもありますので皆様ぜひ、ぜひお越しください♬
As I mentioned both in last night’s event, “A Tribute to Linda Ronstadt” and in my recent Podcast Episode 2, Linda Ronstadt primarily sang songs written by others. She would take these songs, make them her own, and turn them into massive hits.
However, in the latter half of her career, she co-wrote about three songs with other songwriters. One of them, “Winter Light,” is a truly beautiful song. In fact, I recorded it myself for my 2004 album, “Both Sides Now.” It’s a song I absolutely love, and I highly recommend you give it a listen.
昨夜のイベント、「A Tribute to Linda Ronstadt」でも、先日公開した私のポッドキャスト Episode 2でもお話ししたように、リンダは基本的に自分で曲を書くことはなく、他の人が書いた曲を彼女自身のスタイルで歌い、大ヒットさせていきました。
🦋For our non-Japanese speaking audiences: While the talk show about Linda Ronstadt is in Japanese, we invite you to enjoy the live performance on our second stage.
Linda Ronstadt is one of America’s most legendary singers, known for crossing genres and leaving her mark on music history. In this event, we’ll take a closer look at the 1970s—when she and friends like the Eagles and Jackson Browne were at the heart of the West Coast music scene. With live performances and stories, we’ll celebrate her songs and the era that made them shine.
2025.9.18 (Thu) Keiko Walker Presents “A Tribute to Linda Ronstadt”
Don’t miss out! We’re playing live at The Club Sensation this Friday, September 5th!! Get ready for a night of Country-Rock and Westcoast Music! See you there!
Keiko Walker Journal
Vol. 119 September Issue☆August 29th 2025
☆Message☆
August was a whirlwind of activity! How’s everyone surviving this scorching heat? But September is almost here, and I hope the weather cools down. September is shaping up to be just as busy as August. Can’t wait to see you all at my LIVE!!
Did you catch my new bilingual podcast? It started in August and comes out every two weeks. Tune in and let’s chat!
Songbird and Strings, a new bilingual podcast exploring the stories and sounds of Country Music.
Join me as we dive into Country, Rock, Celtic, and Bluegrass, sharing stories about the artists, albums, and songs that make them special. We’ll chat about music history, the latest news, and my own musical journey.
Since we can’t play all the great songs on the show, I’ll be creating a special playlist for every episode.
Girls’ Night Out wrapped up with lots of laughter tonight! Spending time with Chie and Chihana always makes for a wonderful gathering.
Thank you so much to everyone who came—it was a joy to see such a lively crowd.
Our unit, which formed when three Gram Parsons fans met, is growing closer and more in sync with every show.
Chihana, after performing at the Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall during the day and then joining us for another live set at night, truly deserves a rest—great job!
Mark your calendars for our next event: Sunday, January 18, 2026!
昨日はSHIMEもこんな笑顔①で”よっぱけた〜”で楽しんだのではないかな… 今年のSHIME祭りはBack In Townからお誘いいただき、企画の段階から参加させて頂きました。 私から高橋和也くん、ナヲタカ、コカズにもお声かけさせて頂きました。 会場では和也くんにお願いして”みはり”歌って貰いました！
本当に出演者のみなさま、ありがとうございました😊 そして、Back In Town毎年ありがとうございます❣️ ライブの中盤では7月27日に亡くなった友人、西海ミカの為に40数年の仲良し仲間の藤田恵美ちゃん、ミカの旦那、西海孝、ピアノの宇戸トシヒデと4人でSHIME、ミカ、恵美ちゃん、西海孝と私達の特別な曲になっている”The Water Is Wide”を西海ミカにTributeさせて頂きました。
みんなとは撮れてないけど少し写真載せます！！ ステージの写真はBack In TownとChihanaから頂きました。
Photo Credits ①SHIME & Keiko ②Chihana、Keiko、西海孝 ③自撮り棒🤳使ったのに六さん、濱ちゃん、見切れちょった、ごめんなさい😭六川さん(Style Band bassist)、コカズSHIME、BROKEN ASHESサポートギター)、蠣崎さん(SHIMEの最初のアルバム2枚のプロデューサー)、Keiko、高橋和也、濱田さん (Style Band Drummer) ④Finale ⑤樋渡ナヲタカと。ナヲタカいつもありがとうね！SHIMEめちゃくちゃ喜んだと思う！ ⑥ 宇戸トシヒデと藤田恵美ちゃんと ⑦ 宇戸、西海、恵美、私で西海ミカに捧げてThe Water is Wide” ⑧西海ミカ、藤田恵美、Keiko Walker
Songbird and Strings, a new podcast exploring the stories and sounds of country music. Join me as we dive into Country, Rock, Celtic, and Bluegrass, sharing stories about the artists, albums, and songs that make them special. We’ll chat about music history, the latest news, and my own musical journey. Since we can’t play all the great songs on the show, I’ll be creating a special playlist for every episode.
My Facebook timeline this morning was all about the Grammy Award winning Country Music Star, Jeannie Seely. Jeannie passed away on August 1st 2025.
I had the pleasure of touring with Jeannie at her Japan tour in 1992. Special thanks to Kenji Nagatomi for giving me this wonderful opportunity to meet, sing and spend time with her.
In 1996, when I visited Nashville for my recording, I met Jeannie again at the Grand Ole Opry backstage. As soon as she saw me, she said “Hang on I’ll be right back”. In between her shows, she went home to fetch her doggie for me to meet her. When we toured back in 1992, we talked about our dogs the whole time and she remembered. She used to have a Maltese called Luv.
Just recently, she commented on a post I posted on facebook and I thought she was well. You will be dearly missed Jeannie!
During her tour in Japan, she gave me a book she published in 1987. She was famous for saying lovely things and her friend told her to publish a book with her “Seelyisms”. I’ve loved this beautiful little book that she left for me.
Such a fun night again! My last gig this month was with my former guitar player Tara chan!
今回も楽しいライヴになりました！！ お越しくださいましたみなさま本当にありがとうございます！
私が初めて作った自分のバンド、Keiko Walker & The Hot Street Band初代ギターリスト、小野塚規夫(タラちゃん）と二人ライヴ。 バンド作ったのは私が19歳、男子4人は20代、Van１台でライヴ会場やツアーに5人で回りライヴの数も多かったからいつも一緒にみんなで居た気がする。 タラちゃんとの出会いは私が16歳の時、タラちゃんの大学からの友達だったSHIMEを会わせてくれたのもタラちゃん、今回MCではタラちゃんとSHIMEの大学時代の話を沢山してくれてめちゃ盛り上がった！
Photo Credits Left 6/29/2025 From Dr.Tomo Middle 6/29/2025 From Yoshiko san Right Keiko Walker & The Hot Street Band 1st Generation from Top Left 小野塚規夫、塩谷隼人、田中由岳、Keiko Walker、林孝明
June 20th Friday Keiko Walker Presents Emmylou Harris Tribute @Back In TownのRehearsalでした〜♡
最高です！
Volume 7となる今回、久しぶりにEmmylou Harris & The Hot Band時代の曲を選曲。
30年振りくらいにCarl Perkinsの”Restless”やWillie NelsonとMerle Haggardで大ヒットしたTownes Van Zandtの”Poncho & Lefty”なども選曲。リハ中ギターの一晃はずっと”懐かしい、懐かしい”と私の初期のバンド、The Hot Street Bandの頃聴きに来ていたことを思い出すようです😄
Thank you Sunshine!!!! It was raining hard the day before but we were so lucky to have the sun at our show!! My biggest Thank you’s to every one of you that came out yesterday! It was so great to see our neighbors and classmates I haven’t seen for years!! So glad you made it! The old photo with me in my school uniform is with my classmate Charlotte! We’ve known each other since montesorri! Surfers has such a great view!!!! I’m gonna be back at Surfers on June 22nd!!!!
数年前にもBOBBY SOXとKeiko WalkerのSunset Gig at Surfersをしていらい久しぶりのBOBBYと対バン！メンバーも地元横浜のミュージシャンばかりで、企画してくれた日本のSuper Bass Player、ミッチー、（Michiaki）に今回も誘ってもらって本当に楽しかった！ありがとう！！！DrummerはYoshi、（嶋田吉隆）YoshiにはいつもKeikoのバンドで叩いてもらっていますが、とても久しぶりに客席から観て、聴いて、やっぱり最高！20年ほど前、初めてYoshiを見た時の衝撃を思い出した！ご縁、そして繋がりって本当に不思議で素敵なものだなーと思いますね。偉大な日本のロックバンド、TENSAW、メンバー全員と出会ったのはここ10年ちょっとくらい？でも実はTENSAWの名前は私が10代の頃から聞いていた。Keiko Walker & The Hot Street BandのBassist、林孝明がTENSAW、Johnny, Louis and Charなど好きでいつも名前を聞いていたのだが私は子供の頃からCountry Musicの世界しか知らなかったので別世界のお話しでした。そして20年前、Yoshi、Kaz南沢氏に出会ってからYoshiがアメリカに行き活躍をする前はTENSAWのドラマーだったことを知って、あら？またTENSAW！！そしてしばらくして2009年に私は大病をし、数年活動休止をするのですが、地元横浜のご縁で今度はTENSAW全員にやっと出会うのです！！！みんなに本当に仲良くしてもらっていて、特にMichiakiとGricoには本当にお世話になっています。闘病生活長すぎて復帰できなかった私を誘い出してくれてこうして再びステージにたつきっかけをくれたのも二人です！先日、療養中のDrummer、Gricoにも久しぶりに会えたし、そろそろTENSAWが見たいー！！GricoとYoshiのツインドラムのTENSAWなんて見てみたいなー（私の個人的な夢です🤭）
そして、Last but not least、Surfersの前のお店、Road & Skyの頃から本当にお世話になっているオーナーのNaluとSayuly！！いつも本当にありがとう❤️また6月22日もよろしくねーー😘
Photo Credits： Keiko & Charlie stage photos from Nalu and Edna BOBBY SOX stage photos from Nalu, Shima chan & Keiko
そしてCaliforniaと言えば、6月1日は逗子SurfersでBOBBY SOXと対バンLIVEです❣️ 幼なじみの見上チャールズと2人でWest Coast特集🏝 West Coast Music には心強いサポート、ギタープレイヤーの 西海孝、そして横浜では知らない人がいない、老舗IGの八木さんがCajonで急遽参加してくれます❣️
徳さんとの出会いは1988年、37年前。 北海道の襟裳岬で行われたCountry Musicのイベント、出演はジミー時田＆Mountain Playboys、The Last Show、そして私たちKeiko Walker & The Hot Street Band。 それから沢山のステージをご一緒させて頂きました。 2020年2月に私のBirthday Liveに出演していただく予定でしたが病気がわかり、出演できなくなってしまいました。 その時の徳さんの電話の声、今でも思い出します。 それからは息子のタカから徳さんの体調のこととか聞く度に祈る思いでした。
素晴らしいギタープレイヤーでありますが、本当に徳さんってGentlemanで、優しくて、私が難病で活動休止していた頃、SHIMEと白井くん、Back In Townが主催してくれた私のCharityライヴで演奏してくれて、私が復帰したSweet Basilでのライヴでは北海道からの帰りだから出演できないよって言っていたのに開演直前の電話くれて”今羽田に着いたから直行しようと思うけど間に合うかなー？”って飛んできてくれた。 私のCharity Liveの記事はこちらです
昨年、私のトークショー、Keiko Walker’s Music Boxに息子の徳武孝音くんが出演してくれて、お父様の徳武弘文さんのお話しをさせて頂きました。 タカが用意してくれた徳武さんのDiscography、写真やTimelineなど。。 本当に幅広く活躍されていました。こちらのBlogでご覧いただけます
いっぱいお仕事ご一緒させてもらっているから写真も沢山！ 徳武さんのラジオ番組、Trip In The Countryにゲストで呼んでいただいたり、The Last Showのライヴに呼んでいただいたり、そして何より徳さんも私も大好きな世界のGuitar Player、James Burtonの日本ツアーを一緒に回れたこと宝物の様な思い出です。 この時ね、もちろんJamesとのコンサートは嬉しくてしょうがなかったけれど、ポスターに徳武さんのアー写の隣に私のアー写が載ったことが自分で誇らしく思い、凄く嬉しかったのを覚えています。
本当に、本当にありがとうございました。
でもね、 まだまだMystery TrainやOoh Las Vegasのギターを弾いて欲しかった！！
6月20日、Back In Townで行うVolume 7となる”Emmylou Harris Tribute”をワクワク😍準備中！我が家にはエミルー・グッズが満載ですが、Emmylou Harris & The Hot Bandの初期メンバー、Glen D. HardinとJames Burtonのサイン貰ってたんだ〜♡♡2人ともみんな知っている様にElvis Presleyの元はバンド・メンバー。エミルーの1枚目、Pieces of The SkyのCDに貰ったのはピアノのGlen D. Hardin、1999年に国際フォーラムで行われたELVIS: The Concertで来日した時にもらいました。 ※このコンサート、勿論ELVIS本人はいません、ELVISのメンバーがELVISの映像に合わせて演奏するWorld Tourでした。 あるドラマーがRon Tuttが怪我の為、半分彼が叩くとのことで来日中に私のライブに偶然来てくれて、招待してくれました♥️SHIMEも誘い、観にいき、2人で楽屋へもお邪魔させて貰いました😊その時はJamesには会えずでしたが、2003年に一緒にツアー回らせて貰った時にJamesにはEmmylouの”Elite Hotel”のCDにサイン貰いました！ 6月は久しぶりにHank DeVitoやSteve Fishell、Albert Lee や James Burton、Emory Gordy Jr.やMike Bowden、Ron TuttやJohn Wareが居た頃のHot Bandに戻り、今まで取り上げて無い曲を中心にお贈りする予定✨✨✨ 毎回関西からも来てくれたりして頂けて嬉しいかぎりです！全国のエミルーファンの皆さまお待ちしております♥️♥️♥️ (勿論エミルー知らない人も大歓迎😍)
Screenshot
꒰ঌ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈໒꒱ 2025.6.20 (Fri) “Emmylou Harris Tribute Live” Vol. 7 with 古橋一晃 (Guitar) 村中靖愛 (Pedal Steel Guitar) YUKITO (Bass) 嶋田吉隆 (Drums) Place：Back In Town曙橋 Open：18：00 Start：19：00 Charge: ￥5,000 Back In Town 03-3353-4655 東京都新宿区住吉町3-2山田ビルB1 https://backintown.jp/ ご予約はこちらからお願いいたします https://keikowalker.com/ticket-reservations/
やっぱりCountry Musicは最高過ぎるね〜♥️ どの時代も大好きだけど、Keiko Walker & The Hot Street Bandを作って活動していた頃に流行っていたカントリーはアメリカNashvilleの思い出や色々あって濃い時代、昨日はゲストの誠史といっぱい語り、聴き、歌い、楽しい時間でした！！そしてお店では誠史の代わりに坂本愛江ちゃんがママをしていてワイワイ楽しい1日♥️ お越しくださいました皆さん、本当にありがとうございました！3年目のKeiko Walker’s Music Boxもよろしくお願いします❣️ 6月12日のゲストは40年来の大の仲良し、藤田恵美ちゃん(元ル・クプル)です！お見逃し無く〜❣️
Stage Photo from Yoshie Annabelle’s Photo from Masaki さん Thank You💕
Dropped by The Club Sensation to pick up flyers for our June 1st event and ran into so many familiar faces😍 今夜は THE CLUB SENSATIONに6月1日のイベントのフライヤーを取りに行って来ましたー♡♡ 残念ながらBobby Soxのライブには間に合わなかつたけど、今夜は地元の友達達も来てたみたい💕 6月1日Bobby Sox & Charlie & Keiko a Surfers逗子は大盛り上がりになりそう♥️
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve had ’80s–’90s country music on heavy rotation—whether I’m driving or cooking! It’s so exciting, I almost want to break into a Two-Step 😍 That era marked a major shift in country music.
I’m currently organizing my thoughts for next week’s Music Box Episode 24, on Thursday, May 8th, where I’ll be chatting with guest Seiji Katayama.
We’ll touch on these artists next week too, but today happens to be the memorial day of Naomi Judd from The Judds, who passed away in 2022.
Seiji and I both have so many artists we want to talk about—will we even fit it all into one episode? 😂
The photo is of Annabelle and Naomi Judd’s book, which I bought at a bookstore in California around 1993, just after it was published. I’ve been rereading it a bit lately.
Today, I visited the nostalgic Kyoryuchi with the Tomonaga’s 🐴 I’ve known the owner, Red, for nearly 45 years now—can you believe it? 😆 Back when Red was at Wishbone in Shinjuku! I’ve been going to Kyoryuchi since the days of the previous owner, Mr. Soda, and in my younger years, I used to go often with Mr. Jimmy Tokita and Mr. Dave Kuboi.
After forming Broken Ashes, SHIME and I performed live there as a duo ♡♡ It was such a heartwarming time, filled with memories from the past. And Red’s cooking? It’s been delicious since way back 🌮 Thank you ❤️
今日は朝長ご夫婦と懐かしい居留地へ🐴 オーナーのレッドとはもう45年近い？？😆の付き合いになる。レッドが新宿Wishboneに居た頃から。居留地自体は先代のオーナー、曽田さんの頃からで若い頃いつもMr. ジミー時田やMr. Dave 久保井達と良く行ったなぁ。BROKEN ASHES結成後はSHIMEと二人でライブしたり♡♡懐かしい思い出がよみがえった時間でした！レッドの料理は昔から美味しいなぁ🌮Thank you❤️
I visited the cemetery today, as it was both my mother’s memorial day and my grandfather’s birthday.
It was rainy and cold, but I’m so glad I went ♡♡
Next to our family grave 🪦 rests the sisters from my school. They came from Ireland, and those who passed away in Japan now rest in the foreign cemetery. The young sisters who came during my mother’s student days later became my homeroom teachers. Such nostalgic memories.
As always, the cherry blossoms 🌸 above my mother’s grave were in full bloom this year.
Thank you so much to everyone who came 😊 It seems like many of you were hearing us for the first time, and whether you’re into ROCK, BLUEGRASS, or COUNTRY, it made me so happy to see everyone getting into the music and having a great time ♥️
The band was on fire again—just like at February’s Stagecoach show. Such sharp, powerful playing!
And as always, thank you to Back In Town for everything ♥️♥️♥️ On the way home, I had tea with Yukito 🫖😉
The nextお越しくださいました皆様ありがとうございました😊 初めて聴いてくれた方も多かったみたいですが、ROCK好きな方も、BLUEGRASS好きな方も、 COUNTRY好きな方も、みんな盛り上がって聴いてくれていたのが嬉しい♥️ メンバーも2月のStagecouchに続き、キレキレの演奏最高！！
そして、Back In Town、いつもありがとう♥️♥️♥️ 帰りはYUKITOとお茶🫖😉
次回のRock’N Bluegrass Bandは7月20日、茅ヶ崎Stagecoachです！
Photo Credits🕊 ①Rock’N Bluegrass Band 齋藤ジョニー Keiko Walker おおやまけんじ 桑原達也 Johnny Yoshi Hiro ②Stage Photo from Back in Town／バックインタウン ③ 自撮り🤳by Keiko Nahoちゃん、Keiko、ケンちゃん、達也、Johnny Yoshi Hiro ④ Photo by マサキさん Keiko & 遊びに来てくれたNahoちゃん❤︎ ⑤Birthday Present 🎁 Thank you!
I found out during rehearsal on Sunday that Keiichi Hiroishi, former drummer of Crazy Ken Band, has passed away. I was deeply saddened.
He was actually a neighbor of mine. We’d often bump into each other at the supermarket or while out on walks. The day he collapsed, I saw the ambulance arrive, and I spent the following week feeling very worried.
The last time we spoke was when one of his Amazon packages was mistakenly delivered to my house. I really wish I could have seen him again…
The photo is from when we performed together in 2019.
廣石さん、悲しいな。
Crazy Ken Bandの元ドラマー廣石惠一さんが亡くなられたことを日曜日リハ中に知り、落ち込みました。
It’s been a while since our last Girl’s Night Out—and this one was just as fun as ever! ♥️
Thank you so much to everyone who came! And thank you, as always, for the adorable and delicious gifts 🎁 I’m truly touched❣️
This time, both Chie-chan and Chihana had just released new albums! Their beautifully designed covers are so exciting to look at—such great taste 😍 Thank you both for the lovely gifts❣️ And from Chie-chan, I even received a birthday present featuring my favorite Marie 🐈⬛🎀! Marie’s a kitty, but she reminds me so much of Annabelle 🐶—I absolutely adore her❣️
The next Girl’s Night Out is set for Sunday, August 24th (⁎⁍̴̛ᴗ⁍̴̛⁎)
Also, Guitarist Ken Takeya—who’ll be the guest on Keiko Walker’s Music Box next month, April 10th—stopped by to hang out!
The stage photos were kindly shared by our lovely guests 🙏🏻♥️
At Tokutake-san’s live show on Wednesday, I brought out this beauty for the first time in a while—my Gibson J200 Blonde.
Lately, the body’s been showing some serious cracks, so everyone keeps asking, “Is it vintage?” Even on Wednesday, Ritsu Murakami asked me, “Vintage?”
I think I started playing acoustic guitar about a year after I began singing…
I was completely smitten by the bold, masculine sound of the Gibson J200. I wanted it so badly. But my bandmates and even my mom said, “You might not stick with it, so why not start with a guitar you can buy in Japan?” 😂 (Back then, only vintage ones were available.) It was expensive… 💦 So for the first two or three years, I played a Takamine.
Then in 1988, I went to California and started calling every music shop near my house, asking, “Do you have a Gibson J200?” Every single one replied, “We have a Takamine or Yamaha.” 😂 I thought, “No, no, I can get those easily back in Japan!” (lol)
Finally, the last shop I called said, “We have one.” 😍😍😍 I jumped in the car right away (well, I wasn’t the one driving 💦), and that’s how I met this brand-new beauty ♥️
She’s been my partner for nearly 40 years now 💕💕💕
It’s probably time to send her in for maintenance… 😭
Gibson J200の男らしい音に惚れて欲しくて、欲しくて。 当時のバンドの仲間やママに長続きしないかも知れないから先ずは日本て買えるギターにしたら？(当時はVintageしか無く)高かったぁそして2、3年はTakamineを弾いていた。1988年にCaliforniaに行った時に家の近所にある楽器屋さんに片っ端から電話をかけ、Gibson J200はありますか？するとどの店も”We have a Takamine or Yamaha”と言ってくるいやいや、日本帰ったらいっぱい売ってるし(笑) 最後に電話をかけたお店に1本あるよとの事直ぐに車走らせて(運転私じゃないけど)新品なこの子に出会ったのでしたそれから40年近い相棒
“Keep It Up, Toku—You’ve Got This, Toku-chan!” It was such a warm and beautiful live show.
At the last minute, I asked Tecchan on bass if I could join in for one song, and he kindly said yes. Back when I was ill and going through a long recovery, Tokutake-san performed at a charity live organized by Back In Town, SHIME, and Eiichiro Shirai-kun, together with his son Taka (photo ⑨). Later, when I had my comeback live at Sweet Basil, he rushed straight from the airport after returning from Hokkaido just to be there. Tokusan has always been so kind, and I really wanted to be part of this show for him—so I asked Tecchan if I could join.
Watching the stage yesterday, it felt strange not seeing Tokusan there… and yet, it also felt like he was. I sang Mystery Train—the Elvis song Tokusan used to play guitar for during my live shows, and also during the 2003 James Burton Japan Tour we did together. I shared this story on stage yesterday: I first met Last Show in 1988, and we’ve performed together many times since. It was such a joy to play with Last Show again after so long. (Photo ⑩ is from when I guested at their live in 2008.)
The venue was packed with over 100 people. I couldn’t take photos with everyone, but I’ll share some snapshots with fellow performers and musicians who came to the show ♥️
I’m sure Tokutake-san felt all the love from everyone… he must have.
“Keep It Up Toku〜がんばれトクちゃん” 暖かくて素敵なLIVEでした。
急遽Bassのテッちゃんにお願いして私も1曲参加させて頂きました。 私が病気で長期の療養生活をしていた時期、Back In Town、SHIME、白井英一郎くんが企画してくれたCharity Liveに徳武さんが息子のタカと出演してくれて(写真⑨)、その後わたしの復帰LIVE at Sweet Basil の時も北海道から帰った足で空港から駆けつけてくれた徳さん。 本当に優しい徳さんの為に私も参加させて欲しいなという気持ちからテッちゃんにお願いしました。
昨日はステージ観ていて徳さんが居ないのが不思議、でも居るような…… 徳武さんと一緒にツアーした2003年James Burton Japan Tourの時、そして私のLIVEで徳さんがギター弾いてくれたElvisのMystery Trainを歌わせて頂きました。昨日ステージでお話しさせて頂きましたがLast Showとの出会いは1988年、それから沢山ご一緒させて頂いていますが、久しぶりのLast Showとの演奏嬉しかったなぁ。(写真⑩ 2008年Last ShowのLIVEにゲスト出演した時)
Thank You 2025 
lol
に頂きます！
already!
今夜は出演者みんなのチームワークに感謝の1日！そして暖かいお客様、バックインタウンのスタッフみんなのサポートに感謝！！みんなありがとう
とお願いしたジョニーは4パート！ありがとうねー！
Herb Pedersenプロデュースのアルバム、私が持っていなかったアルバム、めちゃめちゃ感動
ありがとうございます！！
が美味しかったー
“この曲はKeikoさんから初めて教えてもらって知った曲”と言ってくれるのも嬉しいな
昨日私は20周年のコンサートの時に参加していた話しをみんなでしたので、探してみたらパンフレットがありました！
ジミー時田さんと一緒でした
岸本さんのFiddleの音色がほんとうに大好き！
to Nashville hits 
, discover how the name became simply Country Music.
ありがとう！
Happy 4th of July
困るなぁ！！
.°でしたが、風があったので過ごしやすかった！！
私はLinda Ronstadt2曲で参加しました！Dicky、シーちゃん、カナマリーノ、金、ありがとう
の隣りは母校のシスター達。アイルランドから来ていたけれど、みんな日本で亡くなったシスター達は外人墓地に眠っています。ママの学生時代にアイルランドから来た若いシスター達が私の時代には私の担任だったり。懐かしい。
でした！
のBirthday Presentも
そして2、3年はTakamineを弾いていた。1988年にCaliforniaに行った時に家の近所にある楽器屋さんに片っ端から電話をかけ、Gibson J200はありますか？するとどの店も”We have a Takamine or Yamaha”と言ってくる
