MEET THE ARTIST

Walt Thompson

Keyboardist, vocalist, producer and engineer whose piano and Hammond work gives the Sam Morrison Band and Turn The Page harmonic width, motion and atmosphere.

Walt’s best work is often felt as environment rather than spotlight: the organ widening a chorus, piano sharpening the rhythm, a sustained chord joining guitars that would otherwise feel separate.

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Walt Thompson · live at JAX

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WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW THEM

The part that makes the stage feel bigger.

THE KEYS

Width without clutter.

Piano and Hammond let the arrangement expand without forcing another guitar to occupy the same frequency space.

THE EARS

He hears the whole recording, not only the keyboard part.

Walt’s professional work includes production and engineering as well as performance.

THE SOUND

Real instruments leave fingerprints.

His listed rig includes a Hammond A100 and Leslie 147 — the kind of hardware whose physical tone is part of the arrangement, not an afterthought.

THE STORY

The musician behind the space between the notes.

Rock arrangements can be deceptively crowded. The useful keyboard player knows when to make the band larger and when to disappear. Walt’s production and engineering background makes that judgment especially valuable. In the Sam Morrison Band, he can add Southern warmth and harmonic movement. In Turn The Page, the same ears help reproduce the scale of records built from multiple interlocking instrumental voices. His contribution is less about filling gaps than deciding which gaps should stay open.

RECORDINGS & MEDIA

A studio vocabulary brought to the live band.

Walt’s professional credits extend beyond the Sam Morrison Band into production, engineering and keyboard work for other artists. That studio life gives his JAX performances another dimension: he is hearing the live arrangement with the instincts of someone used to building records, balancing parts and choosing tone.

LIVE AT JAX

The Room Comes Alive.

START HERE · LIVE PERFORMANCE · FEATURED ARTIST · Aug 30, 2026

SOUTHERN ROCK EXPLOSION | Sam Morrison Band | Live at Campus JAX | A JAXblast Network Production

TONIGHT IS SOLD OUT at Campus JAX — but the room is still open online. The Sam Morrison Band brings SOUTHERN ROCK EXPLOSION to Newport Beach — a high-energy journey through the music and spirit that emerged when Rock, Country, Blues and Jazz collided in the American South. Expect the music of the bands that defined it: Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, The Marshall Tucker Band and more. But Southern Rock Explosion is more than a one-night collection of covers. Sam Morrison has been carrying this concept forward for more than a decade, and the Sam Morrison Band has been making its own Southern Rock since 2000. The same six musicians also power Turn The Page, their nationally touring Bob Seger concert production. The band's official materials report more than 60 million global streams for Turn The Page recordings, 750,000 iTunes downloads and a featured appearance on AXS TV's World's Greatest Tribute Bands. The Sam Morrison Band's original music has also appeared in television and film including Person of Interest, SEAL Team, Batwoman and In the Dark. TONIGHT'S BAND Sam Morrison — Guitar / Vocals Bart Robley — Drums Greg Kasparian — Bass David Kurtz — Guitar / Vocals Karl Sanger — Sax / Vocals Walt Thompson — Keys / Vocals WATCH • DISCOVER • TAKE TONIGHT WITH YOU JAXblast.com JAXblast is the digital extension of the Campus JAX experience — connecting tonight's performance with the artists, their previous appearances, the JAX archive and what comes next. MORE CAMPUS JAX SHOWS CampusJAX.com/events SAM MORRISON BAND SamMorrisonBand.com TURN THE PAGE TurnThePageOnline.com SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC BEYOND THE ROOM Super Chat and Super Stickers help support our live productions during the broadcast. Venmo: @JAXhideaway Subscribe and turn on notifications for more live performances, artist discoveries and archival treasures from Campus JAX and the JAXblast Network. Campus JAX — Newport Beach, California The Moment Stays with You. #SouthernRockExplosion #SamMorrisonBand #CampusJAX

JAX HISTORY

Walt Thompson at Campus JAX

A selective history of live performances and appearances, preserved across visits to the room.

FROM THE ARCHIVE

Previous JAX moments

REPLAY · Aug 30, 6:30 PM