Anita Baker Brings Her Farewell Concert Series to KeyBank State Theatre at Playhouse Square

Playhouse Square and Steve Litman Presents / Urban Vibe announced that multi-Grammy Award-winning singer Anita Baker will perform at the KeyBank State Theatre on November 16-17, 2018 as part of her upcoming Farewell Concert Series. Tickets go on sale to the public on Wednesday, October 17 at 10:00 AM.

Regarded as one of the most popular vocalists of soulful romantic ballads, and an integral part in helping to launch the quiet storm period of contemporary R&B in the 1980's, Anita Baker's career spans over three decades and includes eight Grammy Awards, four American Music Awards, seven Soul Train Awards, a BET Lifetime Achievement Award, seven platinum albums and six world tours.

Anita Baker was born on January 26, 1958 in Toledo, Ohio and grew up in Detroit, MI. She began singing in her church choir when she was 12 and sang in a local group with her high school friends at 16. In 1975, she successfully auditioned for the group Chapter 8, having been approached by bass player David Washington, and spent the next few years playing in and around Detroit.

In 1981, she signed to Otis Smith's Beverly Glenn label, releasing her debut album "Songstress" in 1983, which featured her signature song "Angel." In 1986, she signed with Elektra Records and, understanding that creative control was essential, functioned as executive producer on her megahit album "Rapture", which sold over 6 million records worldwide. The album went multi-platinum and practically all of its tracks found rotation on nationwide radio playlists, including the tender "Caught Up in the Rapture" and "Same Ole Love (365 Days a Year)." This album brought her first two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Female Performance for the album "Rapture" and Best R&B Song for "Sweet Love," a Top-10 Pop and No. 2 R&B hit.

In 1987, Anita began work on her follow-up album "Giving You The Best That I Got" in between an extremely busy performance schedule. This album was also awarded three Grammy Awards. She took a more involved role in the songwriting for her third album "Compositions", also moving towards experimenting with jazz. The album contained seven self-penned songs and was mostly cut live. The album would go on to win her a seventh Grammy Award for Best R&B Female Performance.

In 1993, Anita started working on her next project "Rhythm of Love", on which she wrote five out of the 12 songs. In September 1994, the album was released and Anita received an eighth Grammy Award for Best R&B Song ("I Apologize") in 1995.

In 2004, Anita released "My Everything" for Blue Note Records. In 2005, Baker released "Christmas Fantasy", receiving a Grammy Award nomination for the song "Christmas Time Is Here." In May 2005, Baker was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music. Starting in 2007, Baker embarked on a two-year concert tour titled "An Evening with Anita Baker." In August 2012, Baker released her version of Tyrese's hit "Lately."

Tickets for the November 16-17 performances at the KeyBank State Theatre are on sale October 17 at 10 a.m. and available at www.playhousesquare.org or 216-241-6000.

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