“An engaging performer...well crafted tunes, slices of life from touching story-songs to hilarious sendups, performed on a variety of stringed instruments. A pleasure! ”
— Jim Bizer, MAMA's Coffee House
Bios...
One sentence Description:
Soul Searching Midwestern Folk
Short Bio:
Engaging and vulnerable, humorous and transcendent, Andy’s songs celebrate the ordinary and the mysterious, the head and the heart, highways and dirt roads, and the bonds that hold them all together. His recent accolades include winning the 2020 Kerrville Newfolk Songwriting Competition and the 2022 Great River Folk Festival Songwriting Competition, He presents his songs live on a number of instruments, including guitar, lap slide, octave mandolin, and even bass.
A little longer bio:
Michigan singer/songwriter Andy Baker has spent 3 decades captivating audiences with his unique style of soul satisfying folk. His recent accolades include winning the 2020 Kerrville Newfolk Songwriting Competition and the 2022 Great River Folk Festival Songwriting Competition, and well as being named an Official Showcase presenter at FARM in 2025 and an Emerging Artist at the 2020 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. His 2020 album “North Country Sky” spent several months on the National Folk DJ charts, and Jon Stein, host of WTBQ’s Hootenanny Cafe declares “Andy weaves breathtaking lyrics and melodies…He left me wanting more…much more!” andybakermusic.com
Bio with the Band:
In addition to his solo performances, Andy also teams up with many of his friends in the music community when the need for a bigger sound arises! Andy has appeared with the Schrock Brothers Band, as well as duo and trio performances with Andy Wilson and Mark Schrock.
Long Bio:
Michigan singer/songwriter Andy Baker has spent a lifetime peering through microscopes. As a veterinarian, it’s a necessary skill; searching for small clues in order to grasp the bigger picture. A pretty handy tool for a songwriter too. In fact, Andy has spent a great deal of his life with his own lens turned inward…and outward…resulting in a writing style that moves with a purposeful stride, playful heart, and a hopeful eye to the horizon.
Three decades of crafting songs have resulted in four studio albums, with nods to his many influences including Counting Crows, James Taylor, Ryan Adams, and the Indigo Girls. His 2020 release “North Country Sky” spent a number of weeks on the national Folk DJ Chart, and the opening song “Second Wind” hit #18 in July. Jon Stein of Hootenanny Cafe writes “From the first note of the first song to the last note of the last song, North Country Sky is nothing less than brilliant. His tunes will compel the listener to keep listening...and then after the last note of the last song, wanting more! I can't wait for Andy Baker's next album.”
Andy's accolades include winning the coveted Kerrville Newfolk Songwriting Competition in 2020 (finalist in 2017), as well as the Great River Folk Fest Songwriting Competition in 2022. In 2025 he was features as an Official Showcase performer at the Folk Alliance Midwest conference in Chicago. But his greatest prides come from being involved behind the scenes in the songwriting community, from organizing on line and in person songwriting groups and workshops, hosting a monthly house concert series called Howl at the Moon, and putting on the popular Camp Kerrville Private Showcase at FARM.
Andy’s love for his day job and family life keep him deeply rooted in his tiny rural town of Gobles, Michigan, but when he gets to hit the road he does so with a glint in his eye and a trunk full of instruments. A long time multi-instrumentalist, Andy’s live shows feature a mesmerizing rotation of songs played on guitar, bouzouki, lap slide, and even bass. Jim Bizer of MAMAS Coffee House says “Andy’s an engaging performer…well crafted tunes, slices of life from touching story songs to hilarious sends, performed on a variety of stringed instruments. A real pleasure!”
Catch him on Facebook, Youtube, Spotify, and home at andybakermusic.com
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