"[3] Walker was born and grew up in Altamahaw Ossippee, North Carolina, United States, with classically trained musical parents.

He learned to play the cello at the age of three, and gravitated towards the blues in his teenage years,[6] finding inspiration in the work of B.B.

In his early twenties Walker moved to Austin, Texas, and began to develop his skills as a singer, songwriter and guitarist.

[11] Walker performed at the Austin City Limits Music Festival in September 2011,[12] and has toured supporting both Raul Malo[13] and The Wood Brothers.

[14] The song "Back in Your Arms Again", jointly penned by Malo, Nicholson, and Walker, was recorded for The Mavericks' 2013 album, In Time, and released by them as a single.

[15] Walker lived for fifteen years in Austin, before he relocated again in 2009 to Nashville, Tennessee,[16] where he recorded Time Can Change (2012).