INTERVIEW: SCENE FEST presents VIRGINIA TO VEGAS

Virginia To Vegas is Derik Baker, 24-years old. The Toronto-based singer and songwriter was discovered on YouTube by Canadian Indie label Wax Records in 2013. Quickly racing up the Canadian radio charts into the Top 5 spot with his debut single We Are Stars ft. Alyssa Ried in 2014. Baker has also went on tour with Hedley and Alyssa Reid this past February. He will be performing at SCENE music festival in St. Catharine’s this upcoming weekend.  We had the chance to interview Baker on his inspirations and what we can expect from his performance this weekend. Read our interview with Baker below!

 Who are your musical inspirations?
Growing up I grew up listening to a lot of my parents’ old records, so listening to a lot of different stuff like Patsy Cline and The Beatles. But what inspired me to be a songwriter would be listening to people like John Mayer, and I think as an artist you’re always continuously inspired by different styles of music.

What usually inspires you when writing your own music?
I think any moment that you can have in life that leaves you feeling inspired that your passionate about is worth writing about, if you felt passionate about it chances are someone else is going to feel the same.

Now I know that you recently performed your hit single “We are stars” alongside Alyssa Reid at the MMVAs, can you tell me what was the process behind writing that song?
The process was really cool, I mean Alyssa and I are on the same record label [Wax records] so for us to write together is almost a daily process, we write together very often. I mean that process came together very quickly, it was last summer around this time and the song literally came together in about five or ten minutes.

SCENE fest in St. Catharine’s is this coming Sunday. What are you most excited about this festival? And what can we expect to see from your performance?
I think the thing that I’m most excited about it is that its not a typical pop festival and for what I’ve been doing thus far has been pretty much slotted in the pop category, so the set we put together for the show is quite musical and I’m really excited about it, ill be able to showcase to my fans the variety of skills as an artist that I have, not just singing a pop song. I’ll be playing guitar, I’ll be playing drums, ukulele. I think it’s going to be a really fun show

Who are you most looking forward to see play this weekend?
I really want to see LIGHTS! I’ve never seen her play and I’ve always been a big fan.

What can we look forward to seeing from you in the near future?
This week I just released my second single, its called “Colourful” it went to ITunes on Monday, so you guys can look forward to hearing that, and by the end of the summer I’ll have an album out, we’re looking to release the album by August, and moving forward from there will be just playing as many shows as possible.

Catch Virginia to Vegas 3 PM at the Montebello Park (Mainstage) this Sunday at SCENE Fest! Tickets can be purchased here. Learn more about Baker on his official website.

[Interview and review done by Melissa Campo]