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Biography

Catie Curtis, Spring 2008

cc with susan werner (photo by reggie barrett)

"[Curtis'] songs define the term folk-pop precisely." - PASTE MAGAZINE

Catie Curtis just wanted to play the drums.  She got her first kit when she turned 12.  At age 15, she was hired to play drums for a musical theater production at the amusement park in her hometown of Saco, Maine.   The production manager of the show gave Curtis her first guitar saying, "I will give you this if you promise me you'll learn to play it."  Curtis taught herself to play and write songs by listening to singer/songwriters like the quirky "Melanie,"  Karla Bonoff and the quietly philosophical Cat Stevens.  Later, she learned about the grassroots folk scene while attending Brown University. Friends took her to concerts at the Stone Soup Coffeehouse, introducing her to "under the radar" artists like Cheryl Wheeler and Greg Brown. Curtis gravitated toward the solo acoustic guitar, lyric-driven music, and the sometimes comedic exchange between performer and audience. After graduation and a short stint as a social worker in Boston, Curtis was signed to EMI/Guardian Records in 1996 and has gone on to release 8 CDs to date.

Curtis' style is rootsy and folky but with the rhythmic undercurrent of pop/rock music. Curtis is known for her compelling melodies, relaxed grooves, and subject matter ranging from philosophical to political, romantic to maternal (Curtis and her partner adopted two children who are now 3 and 5 years old.) She performed on the Lilith Fair Tour, and tours now full-time in the US and Europe to a fanbase that has been built over years of returning to the folk clubs and theaters that are the foundation of the acoustic music scene. Her songs have appeared on TV shows from Grey's Anatomy to Alias, and in many films including the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie "Our Lips Are Sealed."

Curtis is currently finishing up her 9th CD, entitled Sweet Life, recorded and mixed in Nashville. Sweet Life will be released in August 2008 on Compass Records. Curtis most recently released Long Night Moon (LNM) on Compass in 2006. One of the songs on LNM, "People Look Around," won the Grand Prize (out of 15,000 entries) of the International Songwriting Competition. She also has won several Boston Music Awards, and Album of the Year at the GLAMA Awards (Gay and Lesbian American Music Awards) in 1998.