Carroll Baker chooses Kawartha Lakes as a stop on her last tour

On March 25, Lindsay’s Flato Academy Theatre will welcome Canadian country music legend Carroll Baker on her final tour, aptly named, The Final Tour. Baker has won countless awards, been inducted into multiple music Hall of Fames, recorded 14 albums, and had 12 consecutive #1 hits during her career spanning more than half a century.

Also known as Canada’s First Lady of Country Music, Baker told Kawartha Lakes Weekly the first time she played in this area was at the Lindsay Fair and “there wasn’t enough places to sit, they kept bringing in more bleachers.” Baker has played in Lindsay several times over the years and is looking forward to playing in our smaller historic theatre one last time. “It just has such a good feeling. I love playing theatres where I can see someone’s eyes, their smiles, it’s so special,” says Baker. Though she has performed in massive stadiums like Wembley in London, UK, the singer prefers the intimacy of a smaller venue, with one exception. Baker says her most memorable concert was far from small, referring to her Juno Awards performance in 1976, where she was the first Canadian country singer to perform at the award show. “It started my career,” Baker says.

Though this will be her last tour, Baker’s music career is far from over and she says, “there are so many things I am looking forward to that keep me in the business without having to travel.” Hours and days previously spent travelling both locally and internationally will now be dedicated to other projects, including her auto-biography. The singer will also continue to work in the music industry, saying she’ll do “everything that doesn’t take me away from home.” This will include producing other artists and songwriting. Although it’s been more than 25 years since she last put out an album, the singer-songwriter says, “I have hundreds of titles and notes for possible songs.”

Aside from music, Baker plans to fundraise for a church she purchased during the pandemic, to save it from being turned into a pub. Located in her hometown of Port Medway, Nova Scotia, “the church is older than federation,” Baker says. The church now houses the Carroll Baker Memory Centre – featuring all her memorabilia from over the decades – which will help raise money to make repairs and bring the church back to its former glory. Along with music and repairing the church, Baker says “I’ll get to be around for my grandchildren, to see them work and meet the loves of their life.”

For tickets visit flatoacademytheatre.com.