After graduating from VSU, Mike Walton took time off from school to work on his playing and get more gigging experience. However, he found little opportunity in his home town and decided to enroll at Georgia State University for his masters degree in jazz studies. He continued to hone his skills under the direction of Mace Hibbard as well as Gordon Vernick and Kevin Bales. While attending GSU, Mike Walton had the opportunity to perform with internationally known artists Eddie Daniels, Donny McCaslin, Duffy Jackson and Joey Defrancesco. He also took great advantage of the local music scene in Atlanta regularly attending the weekly jam sessions and performances of local artists. Mike graduated with his masters May of 2014.

Mike Walton currently resides in Atlanta GA where he performs regularly with the Joe Gransden big band and Russell Gunn’s Blackhawk quintet as well as working on his own projects and writing original music. During is down time, Mike Walton enjoys being a geek. He is especially a huge fan of Star Wars and Star Trek. He also enjoys scale model building , reading a good book or watching documentaries. Most of all he enjoys spending time with his closest friends both human and Dog