Walker Hayes Reflects On His Journey To Faith In New Book, ‘Glad You’re Here,’ Co-Written With His Best Friend

Walker Hayes is adding to his already impressive résumé with the release of his first book.

The Grammy-nominated country star just released Glad You’re Here, written alongside Craig Allen Cooper. Cooper is Hayes’ best friend and a very monumental figure in his life and journey.

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Walker has very openly shared the struggles he faced to get him where he is today and how Craig helped him along the way.

With six nominations at the upcoming 2022 Billboard Music Awards and a newly announced arena tour, Walker Hayes wanted to take the time for his fans to learn the ups and downs he faced through his journey to faith.

Many fans know the name “Craig,” as it is the title of one of the tracks on his 2017 album, boom. When Hayes first met Craig, a pastor whom he barely knew, Hayes was an atheist and alcoholic due to what he thought was the failure of his music career. Craig gifted the Hayes family a car in a time of need, which helped the family immensely and gave Walker a new sense of faith. The two have since become best friends – so much so, the pair moved next door to each other and ripped out the fence between their two houses. They wanted this to act as a testament to the power of the gospel breaking down barriers and uniting people together in Christ.

Glad You’re Here has already received raving reviews, including one from Hoda Kotb of NBC’s Today Show. She calls the book “captivating” and says that “both Walker and Craig are lit from inside.” Bart Millard, lead singer of the Grammy-nominated band MercyMe, even said it “stopped me in my tracks,” and that it is an “incredible story to tell.”  

Glad You’re Here is available everywhere now.

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In addition to the release of his book, Walker Hayes announced the Glad You’re Here Arena Tour, kicking off this fall. Stopping in fifteen cities, the tour will begin in Johnstown, PA on September 29^th with support from special guest Parmalee. This will be Hayes’ first arena headlining tour after he sold out theaters across the nation on The Fancy Like Tour this past winter.

For a list of The Glad You’re Here Tour dates, see below.
9/29 – 1^st Summit Arena, Johnstown, PA
9/30 – Visions Veterans Memorial Arena, Binghamton, NY
10/1 – Mountain Health Arena, Huntington, WV 
10/7 – Santander Arena, Reading, PA
10/8 – DCU Center, Worcester, MA
10/13 – Dow Event Center Arena, Saginaw, MI
10/14 – Corbin Arena, Corbin, KY
10/15 – Covelli Centre, Youngstown, OH
10/21 – Alliant Energy Powerhouse, Cedar Rapids, IA
10/22 – Danny Sanford Premiere Center, Sioux Falls, SD
11/5 – Mechanics Bank Arena, Bakersfield, CA
11/7 – The Greek, Los Angeles, CA
11/10 – Spokane Arena, Spokane, WA
11/11 – Theater of the Clouds, Portland, OR
11/12 – Angel Of the Winds Arena, Everett, WA