Martin Curtis
Martin Curtis is a leading New Zealand folksinger and songwriter.
Born in Great Britain on 7 February 1944, he came to New Zealand in 1964. In 1976, he and his wife Kay went to Wanaka in Central Otago in the South Island to manage a youth hostel in the town for two weeks. They loved the place, and stayed. They now live in the Cardrona Valley, near Wanaka. His love of the area is reflected in the large number of songs he has written about the district.
Martin runs the annual Cardrona Folk Festival that takes place every Labour Weekend. (New Zealand's Labour Day falls on the 4th Monday of October.) He is also responsible for organising tours of New Zealand by top folk musicians, mainly from Britain, but including Eric Bogle from Australia and Jeremy Taylor from South Africa.
He has produced a number of albums. His 1982 debut album, Gin and Raspberry, is recognised by the New Zealand Recording Industry Association as the best-selling New Zealand folk music album. His 2008 album Sea to Summit was one of three contenders for the 2009 Tui Award for the best New Zealand folk music album of the year. The award was won by the Dunedin trio Delgirl.
1982: Gin and Raspberry
1986: Back from the Hills
1990: The Daisy Patch
1994: Save the Wilderness
1996: Off to the Dry Cardrona
1998: Below the High Country
2000: Let's Sing a Kiwi Song (children's album)
2002: Beyond a Climber's Moon
2004: Otago, My Home (DVD)
2008: Sea to Summit
Martin Curtis Home Page: http://www.martincurtis.co.nz/
Cardrona Folk Festival: http://www.martincurtis.co.nz/cardrona.html
Folk musician's chance for glory, p. 48, Otago Daily Times, 24 Jan 2009
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