Martin Curtis in Titirangi

Martin Curtis moved to New Zealand in 1976, after a few years living in the outback of Australia, where he founded and ran the Tennant Creek Folk festival. Soon after settling at Cardrona in Central Otago, he started writing his own songs about the history and environment of his newly adopted country. One of his very first songs, “Gin & Raspberry” soon became a folk standard and has been covered by at least 15 artists around the world. To date he has released 15 albums, all of them comprising songs mainly about NZ. He also founded and continues to run the annual Cardrona Folk festival, now in its 45th year.

He has appeared at festivals and clubs all around New Zealand, and has also done 14 major tours of the U.K, performing anywhere between Cornwall to the Shetland Islands.

His concerts combine quiet thoughtful songs about NZ and beyond with hilarious bush poetry and other humorous material he has picked up along the way. He always tries to entertain his audiences with a varied repertoire, something he learned from his long time friend and inspiration Eric Bogle.

Floor singers in the first half.