Graham Wilkinson Music

Graham Wilkinson plays The Golden Goose on Friday, October 9, at 6 PM. He's a Texas-born songwriter whose work pulls from a wide range of styles, and this show is billed as Graham Wilkinson Music.

Wilkinson's path to this stage has been a long one. Born in 1980 in Denison, East Texas, to a Methodist minister father and a speech pathologist mother, he picked up the guitar at 16. He attended Hendrix College in Arkansas and, after graduating in 2002, spent time in the Greek islands of Mykonos and Paros before volunteering as an English teacher in Pohnpei, Micronesia. Back in Texas, he fronted a punk rock outfit and an old-time bluegrass quintet, and later formed the Underground Township. The sound of that band informs his album YEARBOOK, which got reviews from Austin stations KUT and KGSR and a dozen others across the country. His lyrics run from social responsibility, justice, and politics to love songs.

There's a personal weight behind the music, too. His brother, Aaron Robert Wilkinson, wrote and sang on the edge of the Anti-folk scene in New York, running with Regina Spektor, Kimya Dawson, and Adam Green. Aaron died in New York City, a loss that Graham says profoundly shaped his music. That connection to the Anti-folk scene—known for its raw, lyrics-forward approach—sits alongside his background in punk and bluegrass, and both come through in the songwriting on YEARBOOK.

It's a local show in a familiar spot: The Golden Goose, 2034 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704. The set starts at 6 PM on Friday, October 9.