Orion Walsh’s Guitar Case | Case Closed

words and photos by Nickolai Hammar

Through extensive tours of the U.S. and brief trips overseas, Orion Walsh has populated his guitar case with stickers as his odometer has tacked on miles.

As a solo act on the road, with songs about faith, love and anti-war politics, the Lincoln musician sings his opinions and his feelings unfettered. Soon, Walsh will add to his body of recorded material with a new album called Rambling Heart, a compilation of his best works as well as some new songs, including this title track:

After a tour through the Southwest with Musical Charis in March, he will stop in Austin at SXSW before continuing through the Midwest with Jordan-Morgan Lansdowne in April. Walsh will end the tour with CD release shows in Omaha and Lincoln at Barley Street on April 18 and Duffy's Tavern on April 19, respectively.

With so much time spent away from home, Walsh keeps his guitar in an ambiguous case so anyone who might come across it isn't tempted to steal what's inside.

"I guess I've been lucky so far," Walsh says. "I haven't had anything stolen yet."

Crossing state line after state line, he accumulated these stories in sticker form from venues and fellow musicians. Listen to the stories behind by hovering over the image below and playing each interview snippet:

Nickolai Hammar is a Hear Nebraska intern. He'd love it if you sent him an email about how long each of your toenails are. Reach him at nickolaih@hearnebraska.org.