Chris Pierce plays Tuesday, Sept. 5, at Churchill School in Baker City.

BAKER CITY — Chris Pierce was always drawn to blues and folk, influenced by what he heard at home.

“It started with my parents’ record collection,” Pierce said.

He set his sights on a music career early.

But it almost slipped away when, at age 15, he was diagnosed with a rare hearing disorder called Otosclerosis.

“All of a sudden I was pretty much deaf in both ears. It was shocking. Life stopped for me,” he said. “The devastation was really heavy.”

He had surgery on his right ear and regained 65-70% of his hearing on that side.

“But it wasn’t the whole spectrum of hearing,” he said.

He didn’t give up music.

“I scratched and clawed my way back,” he said.

He earned a scholarship to study music in college and didn’t tell anyone about his hearing. Instead, he learned to adapt.

“I kind of feel like I developed a superpower. I listen differently than most musicians,” he said.

In addition to sound, he focuses on emotions, body language and facial expressions.

“I’m singing from a deep, deep place,” he said.

Pierce, who is based in Los Angeles, is coming to Baker City for the first time to play at Churchill School, 3451 Broadway St., on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show starts at 6:45 p.m.

Tickets are $18 in advance at churchillbaker.com, or $22 at the door.

Pierce lost his hearing 35 years ago. He only started talking about it 15 years ago.

“Every day is a test of how much I love music,” he said.

He’s on the road a lot and spent a month this summer opening for Neil Young. He’s also opened for B.B. King, Seal, Al Green and Aaron Neville.

And between those shows, Pierce tours his own albums. His newest releases on Sept. 1.

The foundation of his music continues to be blues and folk, as well as “soul records” — “old-school soul, blues influenced,” he said. As for the lyrics, he channels a lot about life that he learned from his parents.

“How to speak up, how to move together as human beings,” he said. “Blues and folk for me is always about putting things out there that are thought-provoking. I hope folks come down and open their hearts.”

He’ll be joined on stage by Kaveh Rastegar on bass, Chris Lovejoy on drums and Sam Meek on guitar.

“The band’s gonna be slamming,” he said.