joshua ray walker

He's beaten very long odds!

"Breathing hurts. Coughing hurts. But I'm here, I'm awake, I'm alive, I made it through the surgery and now we wait for the results."

The singer and songwriter has set up a GoFundMe to cover living costs and out-of-pocket health expenses as he fights his way back to good health.

A sense of gratitude pervades his message to fans, in which he admits that 2023 was a "brutal" year, health-wise.

Walker gets his classic country sound from all of the places you'd expect, plus a few you might not.

Keep your eyes (and ears!) on these rising stars.