At 6 p.m. this Friday, Aug. 25, the free outdoor summer concert series will feature Houston Baker and six musicians on the outdoor stage located on the Central Avenue side of the Deane Center for the Performing Arts building at 104 Main Street in Wellsboro. Donations are always appreciated. 

This concert will be moved into the Coolidge Theatre if it rains.

“I’ll be performing a show akin to The Houston Baker Acoustic Roadshow,” said Baker. “This group has been a revolving door of blues rock artists, playing originals and cover tunes, which has always kept the shows fun for both the musicians and the audience. We’ll have more musicians than usual, including: Brandon Lusk and Molly Cary of Distracted Kin, Joe Callahan, Josh Warren and both Brandon Deamer and Alex Sterbenz of Adam and the Armadillos.”

Baker is a singer/songwriter who lives in Blossburg. “I grew up in Westfield and found my love for music in high school. I was 17 years old when I took a guitar class and the instrument really spoke to me.”

He tried out for Mansfield University’s classical guitar program and was accepted. “I was a music education student on guitar for my first two years of higher education when I discovered that the program was not for me. My interest in music was elsewhere.”

Around the same time, Baker started writing and performing his own music with a trio he had formed. He also joined a Twin-Tiers-based collective of area singer/songwriters called “The Scene” that performed at the Deane Center. Baker, Joe Callahan and Brandon Lusk were among the group’s core members.

Soon after graduating from Mansfield University, Baker moved to Harrisburg where he quickly made a name for himself as a performer. He moved up by playing better rooms throughout the Northeast. “Harrisburg was a great place to live because I could easily be in many major cities on the east coast within a few hours; so I started booking more gigs.” 

In late 2014, he moved to State College and continued playing more rooms with great reputations for booking talented artists. There, Baker formed a strong working relationship with the Media 5 band, Dumm. “I traveled and often played originals with Dumm at the House of Blues (Myrtle Beach), The Imperial

Palace (Biloxi), Sloppy Joes (Key West) and Mr. Ed’s (Put-in-Bay) to name a few. “I still regularly perform with Dumm,” he said.

In 2016 Baker moved home to Tioga County. “In recent years, the Houston Baker Trio, my blues rock trio, has performed at events like Nascar in Watkins Glen. The Houston Baker Acoustic Roadshow has played at events, such as the Finger Lakes Wine Festival and a new group he formed recently opened for Fuel at Glassfest in Corning. “These groups all play a mix of original pieces and cover songs,” said Baker.

Audience members are welcome to bring lawn chairs and sit on the grassy area in front of the outdoor stage or on Central Avenue, which will be closed to traffic between Main Street and the Warehouse Theatre from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

The last free concert in the outdoor summer series is Joe Stanky & The Cadets on Friday, Sept. 1 at 6 p.m.

For more information, call the Deane Center at 570-724-6220.