Cousin Curtiss

Like a new Whitman, Cousin Curtiss has heard America singing, and he is singing right back. The melodic energy of his capable guitar playing mixes with the masculine yet accessible tenor of his voice; creating a unique but familiar auditory experience that can’t be found anywhere else.Raised in Onekama, Michigan he currently resides in Marquette, where he is a fulltime student at Northern Michigan University. He balances his schoolwork and performing, along with working as a bartender and playing flanker for the Moosemen Rugby Team.Cousin Curtiss captures the paradoxical simplicity and profundity of small town life in his wise-beyond-his-years lyrics, which are simultaneously playful and probing. His songs scream with excitement and celebration for living as they soak into a listener’s soul.He also possesses a large musical toolbox— his music is rife with concurrent combinations of guitar and harmonica along with splashes of kazoo, beat-boxing, and scat singing. This can be attributed to his open-minded appreciation of all music as an art form. A habit he developed from childhood visits to the Hiawatha Music Festival, which sparked a fire in him that is still burning more than a decade later.But perhaps one of his strongest attributes is his live performances. Cousin Curtiss has an uncanny ability to instantly relate to and engage an audience, whether he’s dressed as a giant penguin to raise money for cancer research or playing in the smoky atmosphere of a bar. He engages an audience with his skillful music, humorous banter, and intelligent musical improvisation.All of this combines to create Cousin Curtiss, a vibrant and dynamic performer, who with two released albums, the latest of which - “What’s in the Water” has been supported by LeVasseur Family Tree Music, is just beginning to set us all aflame with the fire of his music.By Professional Journalist Cameron Witbeck =