Acclaimed LGBT musical artist Catie Curtis will appear at the newly restored CSPS Hall, 1103 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids, on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m.
With her intoxicating brand of folk pop music, smart and enduring lyrics and engaging personality, Curtis has created a dedicated following that has grown steadily over the course of her 20-year career. With recognition that includes a 2006 International Songwriting Competition Grand Prize and a “folk-rock goddess” title from The New Yorker, Curtis has proven that she’s the real deal: a musician with the kind of raw talent and artistic maturity that makes her a force to be reckoned with.
On the new album, Stretch Limousine on Fire, Curtis delivers some of the finest material of her career: 10 original songs that push at her musical boundaries and explore “the difficult edges of passing events” in life, harsh realities tempered with moments of fleeting beauty. This precarious nature of life is a theme that pervades the album. Opening song “Let It Last,” which features folk powerhouse and former tour mate Mary Chapin Carpenter on harmony, finds Curtis pleading, “I know it can’t last/And all I ask is let it last a little longer.”
The sound, like the subject matter, is rawer than Curtis’ previous work, which has been featured on episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Dawson’s Creek” and other hit shows. “There’s a lot of texture that makes you feel like you’re really close to it,” she explains.
Recorded live in Los Angeles’ Stampede Origin Studio, Stretch Limousine on Fire harnesses the energy of her concerts, thanks in part to a fiercely talented band featuring drummer Jay Bellerose and bassist Jennifer Condos, both of whom are currently touring as part of Ray LaMontagne’s Pariah Dogs.
“My singing was inspired by their playing,” says Curtis of her backing band. “It felt like a live performance.”
With her Aspire to Inspire Endowment providing musical instruments to seven youth-oriented music organizations, a busy schedule officiating nontraditional weddings, and the fulltime job of raising two daughters with her partner, Catie Curtis is stretching her own boundaries to ensure that, despite the rough edges in life, there will always be those moments of beauty.
Tickets for the show are $17 in advance and $21 at the door.
For more info: 319-364-1580 or www.legionarts.org. Advance tickets can be purchased at www.legionarts.org.
