From classroom to Grammy stage: CPH alum Melody Walker

Feature photo of Melody Walker with Grammy by Rankin Archive

Only 45 seconds. That’s the amount of time Cal Poly Humboldt alum Melody Walker had to walk on stage at the 67th Grammy Awards this year, trying not to trip while walking up the steps to accept an award. In one of the most exciting moments of her life, Walker said she was at peace. 

Walker graduated from CPH in 2008 with a bachelors in Music. Now in 2025, she is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter. Walker was nominated for Best American Roots Song for a song she co-wrote with singer-songwriter Sierra Ferrell called “American Dreaming” which has close to 6 million streams on Spotify. 

“It feels very lucky because I know there are so many talented, hardworking, geniuses out there who may never get a Grammy,” Walker said in an email. “I’ve treated my songwriting and musical life as just collecting skills and experience to hopefully be ready for the right opportunity to arise. Thinking about my younger self is what allowed me to be present and appreciate the moment.”

By exploring different types of music as a student at CPH, Walker found a love for bluegrass and folk music. The song “American Dreaming” combines these styles with lyrics inspired by the feeling of burnout and being disconnected from one’s community that Walker and Ferrell felt. 

“That vulnerability and realness is what really elevated this song to something that could connect rather than preach, and I’m so glad we could strike that balance together,” Walker said. 

On her journey as a musician, Walker has met many artists with varying educational backgrounds, sometimes with intense music programs that tainted their love for the art, said Walker. When reflecting on her own education, Walker is grateful for the supportive educational environment that helped her flourish into the artist she is today.

During her time at CPH, Walker appreciated the ability to experiment with different music genres and styles in the music department. Her hope is that students take the time to go out and create community connections and not be afraid of personal growth.

“Definitely lean into doing things that scare you a little, meaning, things that scare your ego. If you’re not cringing at the art you made three years ago, five or 10 years ago, you’re not growing,” Walker said. “My advice is to get your tools and get out so you can actually get to work. You just have to start showing up, both in community, and in the creative process. We need both to be a whole artist.”

Walker also performs in an all drag Grateful Dead cover band known as Bertha: The Grateful Drag. Although she never imagined herself doing drag, she found herself inspired when the state of Tennessee tried to ban public drag performances two years ago. This experience has connected her deeper to her queer identity and the LGBTQ+ community. 

“I can’t express how affirming, fun, silly and holistic the experience of learning to do drag has been,” Walker said. “It has changed me for the better and brought so much joy and love and community into my life.” 

In her songwriting, Walker said her inner child is a voice she is constantly listening to. Believing in the folk tradition of keeping songs alive and passing them down for generations, she hopes years from now someone somewhere will be singing the songs she wrote. 

“Songs are all about channeling a collective voice that is also somehow a deeply personal little voice inside of us,” Walker said. “I just want to write songs that people connect with and want to play themselves. I’m a big believer in the folk tradition, so if people in 100 years were singing songs I helped write around a campfire somewhere, I’d be happy.”