Catie Curtis has been Out her whole career.
Catie Curtis is a Wonderful Lesbian Musician.
April 6, 2007
Catie Curtis has always been a pop-leaning writer in folk clothing. This seems to be a growing breed in acoustic music. More and more performers who make their bread and butter by playing folk music venues are now being heard by alternative music fans. Catie’s vivid songwriting combines insightful lyrics with soulful strumming and energy.
Catie Curtis has always been a pop-leaning writer in folk clothing. This seems to be a growing breed in acoustic music. More and more performers who make their bread and butter by playing folk music venues are now being heard by alternative music fans. Catie’s vivid songwriting combines insightful lyrics with soulful strumming and energy.
Much of her music entails emotional narratives that the audience can relate to. She has written about domestic violence, corporate greed, religion, homelessness, peace, international adoption, and gay issues. Unlike artists whose careers are generated by one hit song, Curtis has garnered a fan base through word of mouth, without music industry hype.
Catie has been a constant key member of the Boston acoustic music scene for five albums worth of material thus far. Not many people can claim to be awarded the title of “folk-rock goddess” by a storied publication such as the The New Yorker. The Boston Globe’s review of her CD “Dreaming in Romance Languages” notes that Curtis ties her intimate landscapes to broader themes of spirituality, community, and lasting love. Bay Windows dubs this album Catie’s best since her first. They assert that in this particular collection of tunes Curtis “assembles a lively sequence of relationship flip-flops, intersplicing cautions of impending disconnects with jubilant tales of love’s successes.”
All of Catie’s recordings, along with her engaging live shows, have garnered rave reviews, numerous awards, and a solid touring career in the US and Europe. Her songs have been featured on “Dawson’s Creek,” “Felicty,” “Alias” and “Chicago Hope” as well as in several independent films. She’s toured with Dar Williams, Mary Chapin Carpenter and as part of Lilith Fair. This commitment to touring has resulted in a devoted, grassroots fan base.
These days, Curtis is on the road playing 100 shows a year, both solo and with her band. In fact, a movie about her touring life is in the works. Independent filmmaker Robert Millis shot footage and interviews of Catie and assorted colleagues and friends for a film entitled “Tangled Stories.”
A reviewer noted in the Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange: “[Catie Curtis’s] voice is so completely engaging and so uniquely different, that it is instantly recognizable the moment one of her discs is put into play.” Curtis is known for her signature voice-crack and uses it to great advantage in top-notch tunes such as “Cross Over to Me,” which was co-written by Curtis and one of Nashville’s most talented singer-songwriters, Beth Nielsen-Chapman. This same music reviewer goes on to say: “Perhaps we need to follow Japan’s example and officially proclaim our artists and musicians national treasures. Catie Curtis is a gift.”
A reviewer noted in the Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange: “[Catie Curtis’s] voice is so completely engaging and so uniquely different, that it is instantly recognizable the moment one of her discs is put into play.” Curtis is known for her signature voice-crack and uses it to great advantage in top-notch tunes such as “Cross Over to Me,” which was co-written by Curtis and one of Nashville’s most talented singer-songwriters, Beth Nielsen-Chapman. This same music reviewer goes on to say: “Perhaps we need to follow Japan’s example and officially proclaim our artists and musicians national treasures. Catie Curtis is a gift.”
Curtis’s newest recording, “Long Night Moon,” is one of her most personal efforts to date. It’s an intricate work of stripped down modern folk. A more mature Curtis mingles reflections on motherhood, cold New England winters, and delayed gratification (“Long Night Moon,” a song written about waiting for the belated arrival of her adopted baby daughter) with the unflinching dedication to social issues that has long characterized her strongest work. “Long Night Moon” features the track “People Look Around,” for which Curtis (along with co-writer Mark Erelli) was honored with the Grand Prize in this year’s International Songwriting Competition (out of 15,000 entries from 82 countries). “People Look Around” addresses the human toll and the divisive political landscape that arose in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Catie Curtis Interview
Long Night Moon Press
Catie Curtis Reconnects
October 19th, 2006
Catie Curtis Reconnects
October 19th, 2006
Catie Curtis was first signed to a major label 11 years ago and has been touring and playing for more than 15, and though she hasn't become a household name like Shawn Colvin or Paula Cole, she's one of the best singer-songwriters recording today.
Earlier this year, she and Mark Erelli won the grand prize at this year's prestigious International Songwriting Competition for co-writing the song "People Look Around," which appears on her latest album, Long Night Moon.Now 41, she lives outside of Boston with her partner of 10 years, Liz, whom she married last year. They have two daughters: Lucy, 4, and Celia, 2.
Last December the couple was awaiting Celia's arrival via an international adoption, a complicated process with a timeline over which they had little control. "That kind of passive waiting and longing is a hard thing for me, and unfamiliar," Curtis says.
CATIE CURTIS. SWEET LIFE. Compass Records
Street Date: September 9, 2008
It’s not all that hard to find a musician willing and able to offer a guided tour of life’s dark clouds -- but making the acquaintance of someone able to hone in on the silver lining, well, that’s an altogether rarer occurrence It’s an experience to savor. Catie Curtis’ ability to lift up the listener radiates from virtually every groove of her appropriately-titled ninth studio album, Sweet Life.
“I probably wouldn’t have written a record this positive if things were going great in the world and we had peace and prosperity,” the singer-songwriter explains. “There are lots of reasons to be unhappy or anxious at this time,and I think the album is as much about resilience as anything. In order to stay sane and keep moving forward you have to be able to look at all the bad news around you and still see the beauty that is there alongside the trouble.”
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