Joshua Ray Walker Announces Final Album in Cancer-Recovery Trilogy

Joshua Ray Walker announces Ain't Dead Yet, the final chapter in his cancer-recovery trilogy, out May 29 via East Dallas/Thirty Tigers. The 10-track album follows Tropicana and Stuff and marks the conclusion of a body of work Walker wrote, recorded, and released while undergoing treatment for colon cancer.

Walker started writing songs for the album the year before his cancer diagnosis. "That whole year, I just felt awful and like I was dying. I didn't feel right, and mentally I was off, like there really was something wrong the whole time," Walker says. "So I think the reason some of these songs feel the way they do is because I felt that way, even though I didn't know something was wrong yet."

Diagnosed with Stage 3B colon cancer in early 2024, Walker underwent surgery and six months of chemotherapy before learning the cancer appeared to have spread to his lungs. A subsequent biopsy revealed that the pre-surgery diagnosis was incorrect, and doctors found no discernible cancer anywhere in his body.

"I'm really grateful to have a second chance, and I'm also grateful to have lived through thinking I was going to die. It gives you perspective in a way you really can't fake until you've actually done it; in a way, it was kind of a gift," Walker says. "I'm very intentional with my time, and I'm a lot happier, even though things have been hard, I genuinely do think I'm happier. It's been a pretty wild transformation."

Among the album's standout tracks is “Capital Letters,” a melancholy country song written in tribute to two mentors Walker lost — his grandfather and Trey Johnson, co-founder of State Fair Records. The album was recorded across three Dallas studios: Audio Dallas, Modern Electric, and producer John Pedigo's home studio. The closing track, “Thank You For Listening,” is a song Walker originally shared publicly when he first revealed his diagnosis to fans. “Capital Letters” is available now, ahead of the May 29 release.

Walker has also announced a 2026 tour running from March through July, with dates across the U.S. and a stop at Norsk Country-Treff in Breim, Norway, on July 10.