The Baker Family to Perform KASU-FM Bluegrass Monday Concert Nov. 22
JONESBORO — The Baker Family will perform traditional bluegrass, classic country and gospel music at the next KASU-FM Bluegrass Monday concert. The show will be Monday, Nov. 22, at 7 p.m., at the Collins Theatre, 120 West Emerson Street, in downtown Paragould.
The Baker Family (from left) Carina Baker, Trustin Baker, Elijah Baker, and Carrie Baker.
From Birch Tree, Mo., the Baker Family has become one of the most talked-about family musical ensembles in the country. They tour nationwide, performing around 100 concerts each year, and they have produced multiple CDs.
The Baker Family is a past winner of the Entertainer of the Year award given by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America-Midwest (SPBGMA). The band also received the Album of the Year honor from that same organization.
In 2016, the Baker Family won the Youth in Bluegrass band competition at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo. This competition is the premier showcase in the world for bluegrass musicians under the age of 21 and their parents. That same year, the group was named Bluegrass Band of the Year by the International Country Gospel Music Association.
The family appeared on season 12 of the NBC television program “America’s Got Talent.” Producers of that program invited the group to audition for the program after seeing a YouTube video of their award-winning performance at the 2016 Youth in Bluegrass band competition. The group has also performed on the RFD-TV program “The Bluegrass Trail.”
The Baker Family has also won the Oklahoma Bluegrass Band championship four times, and they won the Pickin’ In The Pines band championship in Arizona in 2013. Earlier this month, the group performed at the Station Inn, the premier venue for bluegrass music in Nashville, Tenn.
The band includes mom Carrie Baker. She plays guitar and upright bass in the band. Three of her four children are also in the musical group.
Twenty-two-year-old Trustin Baker plays fiddle and banjo in the band, and also sings lead and harmony vocals. He is a past winner of the Grand Master Fiddle Championship at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. This award is the most prestigious honor given to a fiddle player, and as a result of that win, he performed on the Grand Ole Opry. He has also won over a dozen other fiddle competitions in five states.
Carina Baker is 20, plays mandolin, and sings lead and harmony vocals for the family band. She is a past winner of the Mandolin Player of the Year award and the Female Vocalist of the Year award from SPBGMA-Midwest.
Eighteen-year-old Elijah Baker plays bass and lead guitar, and sings both lead and harmony vocals for the group. He is a past winner of the Oklahoma State Junior Fiddle Championship. Both Carina and Elijah have also competed and won other honors for their musicianship at festivals and contests across the country.
More information about the band is available at thebakerfamilybluegrass.com.
The admission fee is $10 per person, payable by cash at the door the night of the concert. Everyone aged 18-and-under will be admitted free. Advance tickets can be purchased at kasu.org/tickets. All seating is general admission. Doors open to the theatre at 6 p.m., and seating is first-come, first-served.
Bluegrass Monday concerts are held on the fourth Monday night of each month. These concerts are presented with support from sponsors including the Paragould Advertising and Promotion Commission, Bibb Chiropractic Center, Gardner Law Firm, the Posey Peddler, Hyde Park Café, Holiday Inn Express and Suites of Paragould, and KASU.
KASU is the public media service of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro broadcasting at 91.9 FM and streaming on a variety of online platforms. For more information, contact KASU Program Director Marty Scarbrough at mscarbro@AState.edu or 870-972-2367. Additional information is also available on the Bluegrass Monday Facebook page.
