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For Jackie Rae Daniels and Nate Baker, music brought them across the country and brought them together.  

They met through bluegrass jams while pursuing their own music careers.  

Daniels is a singer-songwriter originally from Chicago. She is a multi-instrumentalist who was first classically trained in the violin. She began touring at 18, living in almost 10 different states, until she stopped in Nashville, where she played the fiddle locally and practiced songwriting.

Baker grew up in St. Louis and went on to study music, getting his Master of Music degree from Utah State University, where he studied under guitarists Fareed Haque and Corey Christiansen. His background in jazz, folk, rock and bluegrass has taken him on international tours. He also teaches music.  

They’ve made music together for over a decade, and eventually decided to form the Daniels & Baker project. 

,” was released Aug. 1. It showcases longtime favorites from their sets.  

After years in the industry, they paused to ask themselves a simple question: how did playing music still make them feel? Though some of the songs were fixtures in their setlists, the process of making this album gave them new ways to enjoy the music.

“That was kind of the big rule for this project, is if we're going to go sit down and record this stuff, we really want to just have a good time doing it and create something that we're happy and proud of,” Daniels said.

One of their favorites on the EP is “Straight In The Light.”  

Daniels wrote the song about 10 years ago, inspired by a difficult period when she struggled with a dark chapter in her life. She wrote this about how the lows of life teach you to better appreciate the good times. 

“Some very good friends of mine would help me kind of understand, and my mom too, she always says, you know, how do you know you're happy if you're never sad?” Daniels said.

It features Daniels as the lead vocalist with guitar by both her and Baker, with occasional backup vocals from him.  

The song begins minimalist, raw and stripped down. That spareness amplifies the story, showing how even in hard times, joy, hope and connection can still break through. 

“It kind of comes together full circle, or just this whole concept of the duality of life, if you will,” she said.  

The storytelling intertwines with precise guitar work, shaped by the instruments Daniels and Baker play. They play Archtops from the 1930s. One's a 1935 L30 and the other a 1938 L50.  

“Playing an older guitar and older instrument in general, especially if it's made of wood, tends to bring out different sounds, more just kind of settled sounds,” Daniels said. “When you have an instrument that's well-made and suits your particular way of playing, it just makes it so much easier to make the sound that you want to be hearing.”  

That depth in the instruments matches Daniels’ voice, enhancing the duo’s rich acoustic storytelling. 

For both of them, after decades, music is a necessity in their lives.   

“It's definitely, you know, like, eat, drink, sleep, and then music is like one of those things. I don't know what in the hell I would do without that. It's just one of those things that's part of me at this point,” Baker said. “Music at this point doesn't necessarily feel like a choice. It feels like just a part of me and part of my experience.”

Find Jackie Rae Daniels and the Daniels and Baker project 

Straight In The Light by Daniels and Baker

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Twin Cities musicians Jackie Rae Daniels and Nate Baker’s new EP “Amerikinda Minnesorta Folk” showcases some of their favorite numbers and the depth in their rich sound that enhances the duo’s acoustic storytelling. 

Settled sounds from old guitars: How Daniels & Baker found joy in the familiar

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