Off the tail end of his brand new EP 'Medicine' and opening for Fat Freddy's Drop tour in Europe, we're delighted to be bringing one of New Zealand's most distinctive voices, Louis Baker for one night in Otaki.

Growing up in the working-class suburb of Newtown, Wellington, Louis developed his passion for music at an early age listening to his parent’s diverse record collection, which featured the likes of Jeff Buckley, Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye and Joni Mitchell.

Picking up his singer-songwriter mother’s Yamaha acoustic guitar as an 11 year-old he was shown a few chords and then went on to learn to play the instrument by ear. This obsession with the guitar would lead him through a metal phase all the way to the world of rhythm and blues, with guitar players such as Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn. The former inspired the then 15-year-old Baker to pick up a wah-wah pedal in an attempt to conjure the spirit of the late great Voodoo Child.

At the age of 17 Baker entered Play It Strange, a national songwriting competition organised by Split Enz’s Mike Chunn. His song ‘Three Ladies’, dedicated to the experiences of his mother and two sisters, saw him place top five, with his prize being an acoustic guitar that he still records and travels with today. Following high school Baker enrolled at Jazz School through the New Zealand School of Music, supplementing his studies with live gigs around the city.

Baker’s first official release came in 2011 with the song ‘Even In The Darkness’. The track won him the most votes on The Audience, a New Zealand government funded website dedicated to new, unreleased music. Then in 2013 Baker was chosen out of 4000 applicants to take one of only 60 places at the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy in New York. The programme included guest lectures from Brian Eno, Questlove (The Roots) and Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest) and also saw Louis experience a studio session with legendary hip hop producer Just Blaze.

Over the years Baker has toured New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Europe multiple times, he has also played at key international festivals including Field Days - London, Sonar Festival - Barcelona, Sziget Festival – Hungary, Splendour In The Grass - Australia, as well as Rhythm and Vines and Homegrown back in his home country of New Zealand.  He has also toured with the likes of Allen Stone, Jamie Liddel and Jordan Rakei.

And now we get to see him LIVE in the Maoriland Hub, off the back of his newest EP and international tour with FFD.

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‘Māoriland Presents’ is a series of unique live performances at the Māoriland Hub - home of the Māoriland Film Festival in the heart of Ōtaki.

Friday, 24th January 2025
Doors open 7:30pm
Show starts 9:00pm

Māoriland Hub
68 Main Street, Ōtaki

Limited tickets available - Get your tickets now!