‘Exciting and raucous’
Nova Scotia singersongwriter Erin Costelo thrilled to launch her new album tonight at the Pourhouse in Charlottetown
Singer-songwriter Erin Costelo is not afraid of deadlines.
So, when the time came to record her new album last year, the Nova Scotia native gave herself a challenge.
Costelo made a commitment to record 10 songs in 10 days, instead of taking a long time to make the record as she had done in the past.
To help achieve her goal she enlisted her friend, Amelia Curran, a Juno-winning songwriter, to document the whole experience.
“It was a way to make me accountable. Otherwise, I might have cheated,” Costelo tells me during a telephone interview earlier this week, in advance of the CD’s launch in Charlottetown tonight.
The motivational strategy began working in her favour.
“There are times when you set lofty goals and you don’t quite meet them, but you always get further than you imagine.” This time, she reached her goal. “We made this record in 10 days, and I love it.”
Prince Edward Islanders will get a chance to hear the results of the music experiment when Costelo launches “Sweet Marie” at the Pourhouse.
“I love playing in P.E.I. And I’m so excited. It’s the first time in years that I’m bringing along a full band with me,” says the soul/ R&B powerhouse who will be accompanied by Glenn Milchem on drums, Anna Ruddick, bass, Leith Fleming-Smith, organ, and her partner, Clive MacNutt, her longtime guitarist.
In fact, audience members are in for a “pretty exciting and raucous” night.
“We’ll start out by playing an introductory set of solo songs, maybe something with just Clive and I. Then we’ll play a longer set with the full band.”
While there are sure to be some fan favourites, the concert is in support of “Sweet Marie”.
“I’m so excited to play the songs live. We just came back from playing some dates in Ontario with the band, and everything sounds really great. And I’m really looking forward to playing the songs at home, in the Maritimes.”
Already, two tracks have been released as singles and are “doing well.” They include “Lights Down Low”, described by “East Coast Magazine” as “a slow groove mixed in with a circus waltz wrapped in a warm fluorescent glow”, and “All in Your Head”, Costelo’s song about aliens.
She’s looking forward to sharing the eight other songs.
“This is the album that I’m the proudest of. And I hope that people will come out to the show.”
Sally Cole is an entertainment writer with The Guardian. She welcomes comments about her column as well as suggestions for future columns from readers. She may be reached at sally.cole@theguardian.pe.ca or by phone at 902-629-6000, ext. 6054.