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Tim Baker (musician)

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Tim Baker
Tim Baker at the 2019 Peterborough Folk Festival
Background information
OriginSt. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Genres
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active2000s—present
LabelsArts & Crafts

Tim Baker is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.[1] The longtime lead singer of the indie rock band Hey Rosetta!,[2] his first solo album Forever Overhead was released on April 19, 2019, on Arts & Crafts.[3]

Background

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Baker was educated at Concordia University, where he planned to study piano but came down with a case of tendonitis that prevented him from being able to play for his admission audition, and thus studied creative writing.[4] Following his graduation, he returned to St. John's, where he began performing locally as a solo artist before deciding that his songs needed a fuller band sound and forming Hey Rosetta![4]

Solo career

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In 2016, Baker debuted his first solo song, "Spirit", on the CBC Radio news program The Current as part of a special series on the economic challenges of life in Newfoundland.[5] The song appears on Forever Overhead.[3]

In June 2019, Forever Overhead was named to the initial longlist for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize.[6] At the Juno Awards of 2020, he received a nomination for Songwriter of the Year, for the songs "All Hands", "Dance" and "The Eighteenth Hole".

In July 2020, he released the Survivors EP.[7]

On July 26, 2021, he performed his song "Songbirds" at the investiture of Mary Simon as Governor General of Canada.

In 2021 he duetted with Rose Cousins on a new re-recording of her song "The Lullaby (My Oldest Love)".[8]

His second solo album, The Festival, was released on October 21, 2022.[9] The album has 10 tracks in total, including the singles "Lucky Few", "Some Day", and "Echo Park". "Echo Park" was written during Baker's time as the lead singer of Hey Rosetta![10]

He followed up with the EP Along the Mountain Road, released in October 2023.[11] The EP was supported by a national tour, with opening acts Matt Holubowski in Western Canada and Haley Heynderickx in Eastern Canada.[12] In the same year he recorded a cover of "Leaving on the Evening Tide" for the Ron Hynes tribute album Sonny Don't Go Away.[13]

His third solo album, a collection of original Christmas-themed music titled Full Rainbow of Light, is slated for release in November 2024.[14]

Personal life

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He was previously in a relationship with singer-songwriter Nico Paulo.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Carolyn Parsons, "Art & Soul: Hey Rosetta! frontman starts anew". The Telegram, October 12, 2018.
  2. ^ Calum Slingerland, "Hey Rosetta!'s Tim Baker Shares New Song 'Spirit'". Exclaim!, November 22, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Sarah Murphy, "Hey Rosetta's Tim Baker Details 'Forever Overhead' Solo Album". Exclaim!, February 12, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Tiana Feng, "Hey Rosetta! chief songwriter Tim Baker takes a literary approach". Words & Music, March 1, 2012.
  5. ^ Lukas Wall, "Hey Rosetta!'s Tim Baker debuts new song on CBC's The Current". CBC News Newfoundland & Labrador, March 10, 2016.
  6. ^ Holly Gordon, "Find out who made the 2019 Polaris Music Prize long list". CBC Music, June 20, 2019.
  7. ^ Allie Gregory (May 20, 2020). "Tim Baker Unveils 'Survivors' EP". Exclaim!.
  8. ^ Alex Cook, "Rose Cousins Revisits ‘The Lullaby (My Oldest Love)’ With Tim Baker and Announces Tour Dates". The East, October 27, 2021.
  9. ^ Chelsea Brimstin, "Tim Baker releases new single ‘Year Of The Dog,’ announces sophomore album ‘The Festival’". CIND-FM, July 22, 2022.
  10. ^ "Tim Baker Throws an Uplifting Party with 'The Festival' | Exclaim!". exclaim.ca. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  11. ^ Ben Okazawa, "Tim Baker Announces 'Along the Mountain Road' EP, Shares Lead Single". Exclaim!, July 28, 2023.
  12. ^ Ben Okazawa, "Tim Baker Plots Canadian Tour, Shares New Single". Exclaim!, September 19, 2023.
  13. ^ Calum Slingerland, "Tim Baker, Alan Doyle, the Once Cover Ron Hynes for New Tribute Album". Exclaim!, August 29, 2023.
  14. ^ Calum Slingerland, "Tim Baker Announces New Holiday-Inspired Album 'Full Rainbow of Light'". Exclaim!, September 10, 2024.
  15. ^ Lisa-Marie Ferla, "Introducing… Nico Paulo". Uncut, June 27, 2023.
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