After a long hiatus, Timothy Walsh returned to his first love, playing guitar and songwriting. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, he founded Penelope's Thrill in 2015 with his son, Andrew, and picked up where he left off playing in garage bands in New Jersey and Boston. In 2019, Walsh took to the road with another Madison band to hone his live performing skills, playing small clubs, bars, and music festivals, including Summerfest and even a gig at Lambeau Field for a Green Bay Packers preseason game.

Recorded over the past lockdown year, the debut Penelope's Thrill album, "Twilight on Tunnel Road," combines all of Walsh's passions--poetry, songwriting, storytelling, and guitar playing--into a groundbreaking concept album. Rich with layered guitars and echoes of rockabilly, surf guitar, and '60s-era twelve-string chime, the album tells the story of Lonnie and Chloe, who grow up on nearby farms on the edge of the Driftless Region in southern Wisconsin. They teach themselves to play guitars, form a band, and...well, you need to listen to the songs, which travel back and forth in time, from their idyllic childhood to their rambunctious teen years, up to their difficulties finding their place in the world. Produced and mixed by Walsh, the album includes contributions from Ben Lokuta (drums), Wendy Lynn Staats (violin), Ben Jaeger (tuba), Amanda Kim Sanderson (vocals), and Akmaral Zykayeva (violin). For a full immersion in the album, go to the band website: penelopesthrill.com