Twain personally invited him to join her on tour. She discovered Baker at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland when he was 18 years old, and they’ve been great friends ever since. Bastian calls Twain his musical mentor. “She really liked my music, and we connected,” he said.
On July 14, Baker will be performing at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, with Shania Twain. “I have dreamed of playing at the Barclays Center. It is such an iconic venue, and New York is my favorite city in the United States,” he said. “I am super excited for that show.”
Baker revealed that he will be kicking off his opening set at the Barclays, solo and acoustic. “It’s just me on guitar and vocals. I love playing that way, and every time I go on stage with my guitar, people pay more attention, and I can take my own rhythm and I interact better with the audience. I am way more free than if I had my whole band with me,” he said. “I love playing with my band, but that works better at festivals, and places where we play our own shows.”
Regarding his song, “Love on Fire,” Baker said, “It is a fun story. In January of 2016, I was in Switzerland, and a new friend of mine and I were hanging out. I told her that I am a singer-songwriter, and she didn’t know what that meant. I told her I write songs and I sing them. I grabbed my guitar and I showed her. I started singing this melody, and she really liked it and encouraged me to write it. A week later, I finished it. This song talks about the little details that make a relationship great. We filmed the video for the song in Nashville.”
After ditching his professional hockey career to become a singer-songwriter, Baker is a brand ambassador for the likes of Hugo Boss, Omega, Audi and Harley Davidson. He speaks five different languages, has shared the stage with Elton John and the MTV Europe Music Awards. “Growing up in Switzerland is kind of a good deal, since when you drive half an hour away, people will speak a total different language. My first language is French, and other languages I know are German, Italian, English and Spanish,” he admitted.
Digital transformation of the music business
On the impact of technology on the music business, Baker said, “I have always had a positive attitude towards it. People are buying less records for sure, but more people are listening to music and more people are coming to the shows. I like to live in the present and look at the future in a positive way. It took me a while to get on Spotify, and now I’m addicted to it. Technology is making this easier, and that works for music.”
To learn more about musician Bastian Baker, check out his official website.
