Casey Baker at Music in the Park

Mary Jane Farmer | May 20, 2019 | Reply

Story by Mary Jane Farmer, Courtesy photo UPDATE: If it rains, the concert will move indoors to The Roost, on South Main across from the government building..

Tuesday night brings the second of the 2019 Music in the Park series to Dorothy Fielder Park in downtown Van Alstyne, presenting Denison songwriter and singer Casey Baker in concert from 6-8 p.m.

Music in the Park is presented by the Van Alstyne Chamber of Commerce with assistance from sponsors and the Community Development Corporation. It is held on the third Tuesday of each month and is free to the public. This year’s series has expanded and will continue through October.

Baker recently released a CD named When The Party’s All Over, and which features 10 original songs she wrote. One of those, “It Was Only Me,” has been moving up the Texas Regional Radio Report chart, hitting No. 9 this recent week. With lyrics such as “Don’t both running, I won’t chase you anymore,” it is a good-bye song in true, real country style. And the instrumentation on this song is spot on, enhanced by steel guitar and banjo.

The title cut, “When The Party’s All Over,” is another of lost love, but with the hope of finding true love, co-written with producers Jesse Sims and Pat Manske, of Bent Leaf Music.

Baker grew up in a music-loving family. When she appeared on stage at 14 years of age with her mother, she knew performing country music was her calling. Two of the songs recorded on this CD were her first two penned songs, written in 2010, and by 2017 she knew she was set and ready to pursue that calling, to be a performing artist.

After moving to Denison, one of her first projects was to record the CD, and that was released in January. No dream this, that Baker knows that music can bring people together. And that’s a goal for the Chamber of Commerce, as well, to bring Van Alstyne residents and visitors together in a friendly and fun-loving atmosphere.

The sponsor for this concert is LeCore Nutraceuticals, with free water provided by Texas Star Bank, wine available from Cooley Bay Winery, and food available for purchase from Little Ernie’s food truck. Lawn chairs are recommended, and ice chests allowed, also. Dorothy Fielder Park and its gazebo are at the corner of North Main and East Jefferson streets, or for GPS purposes, 107 N. Main in Van Alstyne. And the Railcar Farmers Market is only a block away on South Main.