Thursday, November 3, 2022
Concert begins @ 7:30 p.m.
Original Folk Music
@ NYM Cultural Center
The Cultural Center is thrilled to welcome Curtis and Loretta back to New York Mills for an Album Release Tour Concert on Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 7:30 p.m.
You may recognize Curtis & Loretta from our Annual Kalevala Puppet Pageant, where they delight the audience each year with faithful vocals, instrumentals and percussion that truly brings the Pageant to life. We are so thankful for their musical magic each year!
CURTIS TEAGUE Vocals, mandocello, mandolin, guitar, clawhammer banjo, ukulele, harmonica
LORETTA SIMONET Vocals, Celtic harp, guitar, celeste, mandolin, kazoo, shakers
Curtis & Loretta’s music comes straight from the heart. The husband and wife duo’s extraordinary harmonies and proficiency on a parade of stringed instruments create an alluring frame for their poignant original songs, and traditional pieces from America and the British Isles.
The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center’s Fall 2022 Concert Series continues with Curtis & Loretta on Thursday, November 3, 2022 @ 7:30 p.m. in the Cultural Center’s gallery listening room space.
Award-winning folk duo Curtis & Loretta (Curtis Teague & Loretta Simonet) release their timely new album Lift the World. This album spotlights the husband-wife duo’s original songwriting with 10 new songs, many of which were written during the pandemic. Exhibiting the playfulness and pathos that are a hallmark of their live shows, this timely collection is full of songs that speak to our times yet feel like timeless folk classics.
Funded by a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, this album was certainly born of the pandemic. After over 40 years of almost constant touring, Curtis & Loretta, like so many musicians, found themselves stuck at home, with no work. During those days of canceled gigs, the duo had time and space to step back and view the world with clear and insightful vision.
“It was the first time in many years that we found a wealth of time to reflect upon what is really important in this life,” Loretta says. “As a musician, this translated into many new songs inspired by the ongoing pandemic; songs of clear vision, letting go, and realizing what is really most important in our lives.”
These songs celebrate what is truly important in this life–the heart-warming and the heart-breaking. The songs shine a light on what we should keep and build upon, what we should throw out, and especially on how we cherish those most dear to us.
Curtis & Loretta use all the tools in their musical toolkit to present these songs; incisive songwriting, strong vocals, folk harp, mandocello, guitars, banjo, ukulele, harmonica, shakers and kazoo. On the recorded album, guest artists Tom Schaefer (fiddle), Sandy Njoes (bass fiddle) and Sera Smolen (bowed cello) add just the right amount of tasty back-up.
With their signature vibrant harmonies and an array of stringed instruments, they combine equally strong strains of gravity and playful irreverence. Songs like “Corona” and “Home in You” detail the devastation but also the silver linings experienced by so many of us during the pandemic. “Karmic Closet” is a delightful and insightful blues song exploring the internal clutter that we need to clear out.
“Lift the World” and “Get a Hound” are about how one person or dog can help lift you up during hard times. Similarly, “Santa Claus on Halloween” is a fun, country-tinged love song that Loretta wrote for Curtis. These songs combined with covers of the folk songs “Hand Me Down My Walkin’ Cane” and “When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder” paint a vivid portrait of these times.
Keeping the folk tradition alive, Curtis & Loretta are doing what troubadours have done for centuries–documenting our times and telling the stories in song so that generations from now people can sing these songs and feel what our lives were like.
Curtis & Loretta are a folk singer-songwriter duo, guided by their love of good songs and inspired by the stories of people they have met in their over 40 years of touring. Weaving together soaring harmonies with a wild menagerie of instruments that includes guitars, harp, mandocello, banjo, ukulele, kazoo, harmonica, and percussion, the duo perform traditionally-inspired originals with humor and heart.
Featuring Texas-born troubadour Curtis Teague and Minnesota-raised theater graduate Loretta Simonet, the pair first met on the beach in Santa Cruz, California in the spring of 1977. Curtis had just returned to the mainland from Hawaii and heard Loretta practicing for a variety show. He said, “Hey, I play guitar!” They sat down together on a piece of driftwood to sing, and their vocal connection was undeniable. They played together at the variety show that first night, and have been singing together ever since, as the duo Curtis & Loretta. They married in Santiago, Mexico in 1987, and moved to Minneapolis, where they are still based.
Seven minivans and countless miles later, Curtis & Loretta have been named “Best Acoustic Performers of the Twin Cities” (City Pages), landed on Folk Radio Chart’s “Top Albums of the Year” and performed with such folk luminaries as Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Vassar Clements, Claudia Schmidt and Holly Near. They have also received several grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, including the Creative Support for Individuals grant that backed their new album Lift the World – their 10th recording, which is already being called “a generous cornucopia of beautifully crafted songs that speak from the heart of the struggles and joys of life, performed with honesty, grace, and uncommon musicianship” (Chris Vallillo, Gin Ridge Music).
Featuring songs that were written during the pandemic, the new album celebrates what is really important in this life from the heartwarming to the heart breaking. A former professional luthier, Curtis now limits his work to keeping his and Loretta’s instruments in working order. When not busy with that, he loves treasure-hunting at antique and thrift stores. And Loretta loves tending their tiny backyard garden and spending time with their little papillon dog Lulu. When they can, they take Lulu on the road with them, and she even makes an appearance on their new album.
Touring in support of their new album, veteran performers Curtis & Loretta continue to delight audiences with their warmth, humor and masterful musicianship. We are thrilled to welcome them back to New York Mills and hope you can join us on Thursday, November 3rd, 2022! Doors open at 7:00 and music begins at 7:30 p.m.
For more about Curtis & Loretta and to view their tour schedule, visit www.curtisandloretta.com.
“Curtis and Loretta are in many ways the quintessential folk duo: finely honed vocal harmonies of multidimensional intrigue, abundant talent on an array of stringed instruments, deep traditional roots, great originals, and equally strong strains of gravity and playful irreverence.”
— Rick Mason, Minneapolis City Pages A-List
