Country Songwriter Aaron Barker At Honeywell
WABASH – Hit songwriter Aaron Barker, who has penned numerous No. 1 songs for George Strait and Lonestar, will perform at the Honeywell Center at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1. Country Music Awards and Grammy-nominated singer/songwriters Gary Chapman, who wrote Amy Grant’s top hit “My Father’s Eyes,” and Sonny LeMaire, writer of 1993’s Pop Song of the Year “When She Cries,” will be Barker’s special guests.
The presentation is supported by the Arts Midwest Touring fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from Indiana Arts Commission and General Mills Foundation.
Tickets for “Aaron Barker and Friends” are $5 for adults and free for students through high school.
Barker is known for conveying truth and depth of emotion in his songwriting and entertaining. The San Antonio, Texas, native was touring fulltime in a cover band when his first attempt at songwriting—“Baby Blue”—went to No. 1 after country music superstar George Strait recorded the song on his “If You Ain’t Lovin’, You Ain’t Livin’” album. Another song, “Love Without End, Amen,” was the result of a long father and son talk. Although Baker never intended to play the song outside his family, “Love Without End, Amen” became a country music classic, spending five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard for Strait. He also wrote Lonestar’s top single, “What About Now,” in addition to scores of other hits by the likes of Clay Walker, Neal McCoy, Doug Supernaw and Willie Nelson.
Barker sums up his songwriter this way: “These are real stories about real life. I’ve lived a lot of life and I’ve also drawn on the lives of people I have crossed paths with.”
Chapman, a Grammy-nominated songwriter, Dove Award-winning recording artist and host of TNN’s “Prime Time Country,” will perform on the bill with Barker, sharing country songs, along with his arrangements of top gospel songs.
Also joining Barker onstage will be Sonny LeMaire, member of the rock-turned-country group Exile. LeMaire’s group is a four-time CMA and three-time ACM Vocal Group of the Year nominee. The group has 13 number one songs and numerous top 10 hits including “She’s a Miracle,” “Fall,” and “Give Me One More Chance.”