01/05/2026
Thinking of coming to one of my gigs in 2026? ๐ถ
Have a read of Jackie Haydenโs review of my April gig at Wexford Arts Centre (scroll down) โฌ๏ธ
God bless, Don
โSTILL A WINNER AFTER ALL THESE YEARS โ Don Baker
Wexford Arts Centre
Report: Jackie Hayden โ Friday April 10th, 2026
In 1999 I was privileged to work with Don Baker on his autobiography which he titled The Winner in Me. So, it was a real personal pleasure to attend this gig nearly 30 years later and see that he is still very much a winner.
On this visit to the WAC, he was stone-cold solo, weaving his wry observations about life and humanity with his self-deprecating wit as his memory stretched across visits to Tanzania, Germany, Holland, France and the Gospel belt of the USA. He enlivened his chat with a bunch of songs that ranged over several musical genres and were accompanied by his noted dexterity on three different guitars, his trusty harmonica and his blues-tinged voice.
Indeed, there were too many highlights to mention them all, but his version of the Bert Jansch instrumental folk classic โAnjiโ nailed it and then some. He delivered the love song โBaby Blueโ for his daughter Jordana with the same depth of expression as he brought to John Lennonโs angry โWorking Class Heroโ and his own slow blues โCrack Cocaineโ to which he brought a genuine sense of desperation as fitted the lyrics. Nor was he going to escape without some harmonica tunes, and his mournful version of โAmazing Graceโ was another winner.
His trip to Alabama, where he performed alongside some classy gospellers, inspired his โPreacherโs Storyโ focusing on the racism that has poisoned US history and lives on in the current President. A dalliance with Finbar Furey inspired โMy Train Is Runningโ and other favourites with the enthralled WAC audience were โMake Me a Pallet on Your Floorโ, โOne More City One More Townโ and Guy Clarkโs โLA Freewayโ. His duet with local talent Ayda who joined him on โThe House of the Rising Sunโ, a major folk and rock hit on both sides of the Atlantic, worked a treat.
So, lots of winners for a memorable gig that went down bigtime with the WAC audience.โ
https://www.wexfordartscentre.ie/reviews/
