By Zach Dunkin
Growing up and living in Marion, Ark., country singer Barrett Baber regularly took the short ride across the Mississippi River and into Memphis where he inhaled the smell of barbecue and the mix of musical sounds wafting from the rib shacks and live music clubs in the town called both Blues City and the Birthplace of Rock and Roll. Take your pick.
It’s that personal experience of hearing those smokin’ notes steeped in blues, R&B, country and rock from the street corners and the Beale Street bars that helped shape Baber’s soulful sound, a sound Baber describes as “roots -soul.”
“It’s soul and country and roots and all of that mixed together because that’s really where I was raised,” explained Baber, who will make his Indiana debut at The Warehouse on March 25. “That’s who I am.”
It’s a sound that carried Baber all the way to a third-place finish in last season’s “The Voice” vocal competition on NBC. Baber was coached on “The Voice” by country star Blake Shelton, one of the four judges on the show. Shelton predicted fame for his student, saying his voice is like no other on country radio today and that “he can be a superstar.”
Fresh from a nine-night residence with Rascal Flatts at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas, Baber will perform some of his original songs on his six-song EP “Falling Again” and his new single, “Kiss Me Hello,” co-written by Kenny Lamb and recorded in Nashville.
“Now, I have the opportunity to show people that there’s some real depth to me, not only a performer singing cover songs on ‘The Voice,’ but as an original songwriter who can deliver great country songs,” Baber said. “And it’s a great way to follow up my incredible experience on ‘The Voice.’”
Barrett Baber
Where: The Warehouse, 251 1st Ave. SW, Carmel
When: 8 p.m., March 25 (Doors open at 8 p.m.)
Tickets: $45 to $115 (VIP Experience) at www.liveforthemusic.com.
