The Walking Beat

After enjoying some early success in Detroit, The Walking Beat, a honky-tonk Americana band has reassembled in Minnesota with its first new album since 2016.

Songwriters, lead vocalists and Michiganders Steve McCauley, also on guitar, and Kara Dupuy, also on piano, tabbed Minnesota native Eric Kramlinger, on drums, and Minnesota transplants Devon Hugdahl, on bass, Kirstin Kooda, on accordion, and John Molseed on banjo, to fill out the incarnation with an eclectic old-timey country sound.

“Easy Chair,” a full-length album, features new, original songs by McCauley and Dupuy. They combine the unique instrumentation with rustic music traditions with a bit of punk rock enthusiasm. The songs have punchy, raw energy but are also grounded in folk music traditions.

The album was recorded at Kramlinger's Quincy Street Studio in Northeast Minneapolis.

With the fresh album in hand and a new lineup assembled, the Walking Beat are hitting the ground running with a series of scheduled shows and festival appearances in 2023.