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Event
Curtis and Loretta with special guest James Faretheewell
About Curtis and Loretta
Curtis & Lorettas music comes straight from the heart. The husband and wife duos 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 current menagerie includes mandocello, folk harp, guitars, clawhammer banjo, ukulele, and mandolin, plus a bit of kazoo, harmonica, and shakers. Curtis down-home sense of humor and Lorettas theater background engage the audience in an experience that runs the gamut of rolling with laughter to holding back tears, with plenty of side-trips in between. They rack up countless miles each year, crisscrossing the country to deliver their own unique brand of folk singer/songwriter music.
Their heartfelt originals explore timeless issues such as love and longing, and they also boldly tackle tough subjects such as Alzheimers (Can You Take Me Home?), and war (Angel of Bergen-Belsen). Loretta was awarded an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board in 2015, and wrote 12 songs about real-life people who have overcome great odds in their lives. This stellar cast of characters includes a woman who donated a kidney to a toddler she didnt know; a woman who grew up in great hardship in the grasslands of Somalia and is now a nurse at Mayo Clinic; a couple facing the challenges and reaping the rewards of raising 2 severely autistic children; a couple who met in their 20s, lost touch for many years, then found each other and married 40 years later, plus many more. The resulting CD, When Theres Good to Be Done, released in November 2015, reveals that if we only look closely at the ordinary people among us, we often discover extraordinary people.
In 1977, a theater graduate was sitting on a beach in Santa Cruz, California playing her guitar, practicing for a variety show. A young Texan who had just returned to the mainland from Hawaii stopped and said, Hey, I play guitar! And he did! They sat down together on a piece of driftwood and as they sang, they couldnt help but notice how well their voices meshed. They played together at the variety show that night, and have been singing together ever since, as the duo Curtis & Loretta. Their years of performing and touring together have honed their comfortable stage presence to a delightful edge.
They received an Arts Tour Minnesota grant from the State Arts Board in 2010, and were named Best Acoustic Performers of the Twin Cities by City Pages in 2002. Their CDs have appeared on Top Albums of the Year, at folkradio.org, and theyve received several nominations for Best Acoustic Folk Artist for the Minnesota Music Awards. They have released 8 CDs, and shared billings with such luminaries as Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Holly Near, Vassar Clements, Claudia Schmidt, and many more! Curtis Teague and Loretta Simonet were married (to each other!) in 1987, and live in Minneapolis.
About James Faretheewell
James Faretheewell is originally from the North Texas plains. As soon as he could leave home, he slung a guitar over his shoulder and thumbed down a semi on his way to Big D (Dallas, Texas) where he cut his musical teeth on Texas rock, hard rock, punk rock and folk rock.
Then living in Amsterdam NL, Austin Tx, Seattle Wa. and now Portland Oregon, he has acquired influences as diverse as Federico Lorca to Louis Armstrong, Dylan to Bowie, John Lennon to Leonard Cohen and evolved into a poetic, passionate acoustic/electric songwriter and an engaging, theatrical, thought provoking entertainer.
Faretheewell is currently performing solo/acoustic shows after an 8 year stint with the rock band "The Foolhardy". Portland venues that have supported him are The Blue Monk, Hawthorne Theater, Mt Tabor Theater, and many of the McMenamin venues. You might also find him at Artichoke Music, Jade Lounge or other wine bars/coffee houses singing original songs accompanied by acoustic guitar. In 2010 he was nominated for best male artist in the Portland music awards. He has released three album length CDs. and a compilation of the best songs from those CDs
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LocationArtichoke Music (View)
3130 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR 97214
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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