Erick Baker - Dear Amanda (2016)

Singer/songwriter Erick Baker has earned a large and growing following (especially in his native Tennessee) for his emotionally powerful songs about the travails of love and life. Erick Baker was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on December 12, 1978 and while he grew up with a love of music, he didn't sing or write songs as a teenager, and didn't begin performing until he enrolled at the University of Tennessee, where he studied communication. Baker had picked up the guitar during his college days and played occasionally at parties for fun, by his own admission in hopes of meeting women. After graduating, Baker got a bit more serious about his music, playing covers at local bars and coffeehouses until he joined a local rock band, Down from Up, as guitarist and singer. After cutting a pair of self-released albums with Down from Up, 2006's Live: Far from the Bottom and 2007's A Terrible Beauty, Baker parted ways with the group and began performing as a solo acoustic act. While doing a set at an open-mike night in Knoxville, Baker was spotted by a local promoter who gave him a spot opening a show for John Legend, and soon buzz about Baker began to spread. In 2008, Baker released his first EP, It's Getting Too Late to Say It's Early, and by the time he released his first full-length album, 2010's Holding the Pieces in Place, he'd shared stages with James Blunt, Nanci Griffith, and Natasha Bedingfield, and toured with Heart as their opening act. In 2012, Baker released Goodbye June, produced by Ken Coomer (formerly of Wilco), and continued to tour frequently, packing small venues as a headliner and playing larger halls opening for major acts. Baker has retained an especially loyal following in his hometown of Knoxville, where he's sold out the Bijou Theatre six times. ~ Mark Deming.