Knoxville Artist- Erick Baker

Erick Baker has one of those voices you just can’t forget. As a local Knoxvillian, he used his hometown as his beginning platform to share his passion and talent for singing and song-writing. Although his music career roots originally go back to his start with a local rock band named “Down From Up”, Baker has received attention and ultimately success from his solo career. He’s been letting his rich voice and raw lyrics guide him ever since. His style of music is hard to categorize because it simply pulls from many genres typically giving him the label of a crossover artist. His approach to music as even been described as genre-bending.

I’ve had the pleasure of listening to the sweet melodies and soothing sounds of Erick Baker since I was an impressionable late middle schooler/early high schooler who gushed over his emotionally charged lyrics. Self-admittedly, they were the songs that provided inspiration for day dreams of future love and life experiences. However, even years later with maturity on my side, I still turn back to Erick Baker every now and then. I may have grown up, but I have not grown tired to his music. Since his start, I’ve been to a sold-out performance of his at the Bijou Theatre in downtown Knoxville, but an even more noteworthy connection I like to throw in there is that he sang in the worship band at my church almost every Sunday for over a year. It was like a free concert every week and I was not complaining one bit.

Erick Baker is a graduate from our University earning a degree in public relations, however, his life story makes it clear that he followed a different direction because he hasn’t used this degree even once. I think Erick Baker serves as the perfect example of aligning your career around your passion, even if that takes you in a down a different path than you originally planned for yourself. As a self-taught singer and guitarist, Erick Baker shows that heart and soul pays off. After touring all over with big names including John Legend and Gavin Degraw, Baker has let the fame lead him back home so he can be a better family man and pursue his music in the community that gave so much to him. 

Take a listen below!