Chris Baron Duo

Hi, I’m Chris.

I’m going to play some music for you that you’ve probably never heard before.

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I compose songs on the acoustic guitar, banjo or uke, or imagine them out of the air around me.  Sometimes they are solo performance pieces, which is how I tour;

those expand with the funky folk ensemble Two Secrets.

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My listeners will connect with the simple heart of the three-chord song.  Yet we are the kind of fans who purposefully seek out an ever-expanding world of song arrangement that dangles genre fusion, vulnerable dynamics, inventive chords, and whimsical song sections.

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The music world has slipped me wonderful unique experiences, just by showing up consistently, in and of itself.  Through a house concert series I’ve shared a salmon dinner with and then opened for John Craigie, Martyn Joseph, Alison Russell, Mandy Fer, the Talbott Brothers.  I've gotten to sit one-on-one backstage with Victor Wooten.  Peter Yarrow came up to me at a gig in 2017 and kissed me on the cheek and said “son, I really appreciate what you are doing”.  I shared a chinese dinner with Floater in a remote desert town, requested a song for their upcoming show, and got my request granted with a tip of the whiskey glass and a sly grin by guitarist Dave during the concert.  Proud to say Karma Ann Swanepoel has become a close personal friend.  One time Jim Avett came over to a couch I was sitting on, plopped down and chatted with me for several minutes after a showcase.  And there's more, and there always will be.

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Award-winning songwriter Dan Weber was plied with rye whiskey to write:

"...Chris' live show exudes the wonderment and enthusiasm of an artist drawing an authentic connection with his audience...feeding off that raw live energy...

he rocks out and storytells the way Wilco and The Avett Brothers have so successfully done..."

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The soundman at Tumbleweed Music Festival (WA) in 2019 was clearly overheard saying

"...I've been doing this for 17 years, and that was the best live set I've seen."

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I started producing original albums and EPs in 1998 at age 17.  As of 2023 I have twenty-seven of them.  Five of those I consider ‘solo albums’:

Searchlights In Mexico (2008) ;

Light Up The Sky (2014) ;

Relics '16-17  (2018) ;

Habits (2019) ;

The Glyndon Sessions (2021)

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James Book, bass player and business manager of 90s sensation The Flies (and a founding member of Ninkasi Brewing) co-produced my 2019 album *Habits* with me.

I got into the 2022 Tucson Folk Festival on the strength of my song “Give” and ended up winning first place in their performance competition.

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In May 2022, I was interviewed by James Walsh for the podcast CelebEfex for the third time.  Find that interview, it's about an hour, and genuine.

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My great friend Jake Riggs once yelled into the wind

"...It's not hard to tell that Baron was born to perform. From the solemn to the goofy, sentimental to grateful, his mannerisms and charisma effortlessly transition between the songs and the mood of the room. 'How can Chris be in all moods at all times?' you have asked many times. It took thousands of hours of stage time, thousands of gallons of beer and more heartbreak than the average human can endure. Go see ChrisBaron live. He'll be the long-haired, tall approachable guy holding the guitar...and chances are he'll be smiling..."

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As 2023 continues I am particularly fascinated by the Punch Brothers, William Onyeabor, Tk & the Holy Know-Nothings, John Craigie, Tool, Steve Poltz, Derek Vanderhorst, Roland Roberts, and Megan Alder.  To name a few.

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Need more?

My Mom drew that rabbit, free stickers at every show.

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Two tribute bands were founded over the years.  @IdiotScience performed SCIENCE by Incubus (Sony 1998) from start to finish across 2009-2012.  Then we wrote songs for our own original underground self-produced EP.  We gave all 200 away, and broke up.  I started as singer/guitar, then moved to just singer (and djembe shredder).

@TheAvettOthers performed a wide variety of Avett Brothers covers across 2017-2020. We eventually arranged original material together and started recording but never finished.

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Hans Vollman, via George Saunders:

"...His mind was freshly inclined toward sorrow; toward the fact that the world was full of sorrow; that everyone labored under some burden of sorrow; that all were suffering; that whatever way one took in this world, one must try to remember that all were suffering (none content; all wronged, neglected, overlooked, misunderstood), and therefore one must do what one could to lighten the load of those with whom one came into contact; that his current state of sorrow was not uniquely his, not at all, but, rather, its like had been felt, would yet be felt, by scores of others, in all times, in every time, and must not be prolonged or exaggerated, because, in this state, he could be of no help to anyone and, given that his position in the world situated him to be either of great help or great harm, it would not do to stay low, if he could help it..."