Catie Curtis Tickets

Catie Curtis
Catie Curtis (born 1965) is an American singer-songwriter. She was originally a drummer, but later changed instruments to acoustic guitar. She was raised in the small city of Saco, Maine, and played her first performances there.

Curtis' richly textured voice continues to shine on this new body of work which addresses themes of waiting, questioning, & reconnecting. The songs on Long Night Moon were written at the time when Curtis first became a parent. Becoming a parent has made me more aware of and invested in the world my children will inherit. Curtis currently lives in Boston with her partner and their two daughters.

Her songs have featured in Alias, Dawson's Creek, Felicity and Chicago Hope, as well as in several independent films. She won the Best Album Award from the Gay and Lesbian American Music Awards for her self-titled 1997 album. In 2006, she and Mark Erelli won the Grand Prize in the International Songwriting Competition for their song People Look Around, a song written in response to the hurricane Katrina disaster.

Catie Curtis delivers her most personal effort to date with Long Night Moon, an intricate work of stripped down modern folk. With grace and confidence, a more mature Curtis mingles reflections on motherhood (New Flowers), cold New England winters (Hey California) 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.

Produced by Lorne Entress (Lori McKenna, Mark Erelli, Alastair Moock), Curtis & Entress focused on simple arrangements for Long Night Moon featuring strings and vintage instruments to create a soundscape with an often hushed quality that never overwhelms her sweet, strong voice. Recorded over several months, the songs on this record have a raw and organic quality that reflects Curtis' live performance style. Curtis is joined by guitarists Kevin Barry (Paula Cole), Mark Erelli and John Jennings (Mary Chapin Carpenter), bassist Mike Rivard (Jonatha Brooke), and drummer John Sands (Aimee Mann). Mary Chapin Carpenter makes a special appearance on the track Water and Stone.

Since the mid-90s, Curtis has toured the U.S. and Europe extensively and appeared on bills with artists such as Dar Williams and Richard Thompson. A supporter of social causes, Curtis has played concerts benefiting organizations including Paul Newman's Hole In the Wall Gang Camp (for children with life-threatening illnesses), PFLAG (Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians & Gays), and others. Her songs have appeared in television shows as diverse as Grey's Anatomy, Dawson's Creek, Felicity, and Alias, and films such as 500 Miles to Graceland and A Slipping Down Life.

Curtis has toured extensively in North America in support of her albums, including playing at several festivals, such as the Newport Folk Festival. She has also supported, among others, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Dar Williams, Girlyman and Bonnie Raitt. She also played on the final Lilith Fair tour.

After leaving Saco, she went to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. While at college, she became involved in the local coffeehouse circuit. At the same time, Curtis worked as a waitress and social worker while continuing to write and perform. She moved to Boston, Massachusetts in the early 1990s, after deciding to make a career out of music.

A film documentary on Curtis, entitled Tangled Stories, has been directed by Robert Millis. An interview with her is also featured on his current affairs program, American Microphone.