Local performer starting to see efforts pay off
Over its 21 years, Medicine Hat’s annual JazzFest has grown to attract some fairly big names from around North America.
But another big part of the festival is showcasing the city’s homegrown talent, such as 31year-old Christie Kurpjuweit, a born-and-raised Medicine Hatter.
“Playing in the city you grew up in is always awesome,” she said. “I’ve played a few JazzFests in the past and I just always get such great support from the community. It’s always fun to go and play a show and just know that there’s going to be people there supporting you.”
Kurpjuweit has been playing the guitar since she was 15, playing professionally for the past eight years. She says taking the first step into the music business was the biggest.
“When I played guitar when I was younger I didn’t sing,” she said. “As I kept playing I realized I was getting bored not being able to sing along. When I got into trying stuff at home, I figured I would try some openmic events. I loved the open mics and I got some good response and feedback and it just took off.”
Though she has not recorded any music yet, Kurpjuweit says playing more shows and releasing an EP of original songs are two of her biggest goals going forward.
“I don’t have anything recorded yet but I really want to work towards that,” she said. “I’ve found that having two kids really broke up any momentum I’ve had going with my music. Now that I’m done having kids I’m getting a lot more shows coming, and as shows get to feel easier I want to start writing more of my own stuff.”
Kurpjuweit’s next show is Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the ARTS Wine and Bistro, and she says people can expect a widerange of music.
“Anything from top-40 songs to old-school Beatles I’ll play,” she said. “I really like to challenge myself and I find it’s way more interesting to branch out to different things.”
For a full list of JazzFest shows go to, www.medicinehatjazzfest.com.