Michael McDonald on Reuniting with the Doobie Brothers, Yacht Rock and Walk This Road

Michael McDonald joins Kyle Meredith With… to talk about Walk This Road, the first Doobie Brothers album to feature him as a full member since 1980. What started as a 50th anniversary tour quietly evolved into something more permanent, with McDonald, Tom Johnston, and Pat Simmons writing and singing together again for the first time in decades. He shares stories about rediscovered demos, recording new songs in real time, and finally living out his dream of playing accordion on a New Orleans-inspired track. Listen now.

The album is full of surprises — gospel grooves, blues shuffles, and even social commentary — but it’s also a reminder of The Doobies’ musical range and chemistry. McDonald says playing with the band pushes him in ways his solo work never has, like taking on new instruments or singing alongside voices as distinct as Johnston’s and Simmons’s.

He also weighs in on the HBO Yacht Rock documentary, how Mavis Staples stole the show on their title track, and how touring in your seventies can still make you feel 20 when you hit the stage.

Listen to Michael McDonald chat about all this and more or watch it on Youtube. Please take the time to like, review, and subscribe to KMW wherever you get your podcasts, and keep up to date with all our series by following the Consequence Podcast Network.

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