Curtis: I just love to hang stout in Navan
Singer jets in for Irish tour & feels like a ‘local’ in favourite town
HE may be an internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter but Curtis Stigers classes himself as a “local” in one Irish town.
The 58-year-old American saxophonist and guitarist is heading back to Ireland for the second time in 18 months this week to play four dates.
And he is looking forward to sinking a pint of Guinness when he reaches his first venue in Co Kilkenny.
The legendary performer is also gigging in Navan, Co Meath, where he describes himself as a local due to his friendship with award-winning composer Brian Byrne, who brought him out on the town on his last visit there in November 2022.
Stigers has played for presidents and princes, appeared in the Ted movies, recorded 13 albums, written songs with Carole King and duetted with Al Green, Shawn Colvin and Tom Jones and he knows the best curry house in Navan, though he remains tight-lipped about it.
He is loving Ireland and is trying to make up for the fact that he didn’t tour here much as a chart-topper, despite his single I Wonder Why hitting the top five.
He also co-wrote the Emmy nominated theme tune to Sons of Anarchy, the TV hit series, which was partly filmed in the North.
Curtis said: “I went a long time without playing Ireland and I can’t understand why. I’ve a new agent who was eager for me to play here and now I just can’t get enough of it.
“I Wonder Why went to the Top Ten all over the World. I was awarded the Best International Newcomer at the IRMA Music Awards back then and I performed with Paul Brady, of whom I am a huge fan and had met him before on tour.
“He was getting a lifetime achievement award and I said to him, ‘Why don’t you play piano on the song I Wonder Why and I’ll play the saxophone on your song Crazy Dreams?’
“I’m trying to do as many shows as I can in a new format for myself that shows off the arc of my career, spanning from my song writing to the pop hits to jazz and everything in between.
“I was over 20 years touring with a jazz band which I loved but I didn’t obviously get to then sing my first few records as they were from the pop era.
“So I am coming to Ireland this time with my guitar and saxophone and bringing a bass and piano player to help with the jazz side of things. It will be a very entertaining evening. I’m also looking forward to having a pint of Guinness when I get to Kilkenny.
“The first half of the show I am going to delve into the catalogue of my first few records including You’re All That Matters and then I will show that I grew up as a musician.
“I wasn’t a good pop star. But I wrote I Wonder Why and All That Matters so they are my babies and
I’ll never
My songs are like stories, people need to hear every word CURTIS STIGERS YESTERDAY
get tired of singing them.
“Though I sing them differently now. I have no ego about lowering the keys so I play them a step or two down and I think my voice sounds better now that I’m no longer singing in the stratosphere.
“I’m playing four shows from Thursday, April 4 in the Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny and then I will move to the Solstice Theatre in Navan, Co Meath, the Ulster Hall in
Belfast and then the Pavillion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire.
“The venues are pretty intimate and that’s important to me. My songs are like stories and I need people to hear every word. My concerts are like going to a play or movie. The audience is entertained and doesn’t feel the need to talk through it.” It is almost 20 years
since I Wonder Why became an international hit, yet it is still widely played today and Curtis admits hearing versions and different arrangements of the song amazes him.
Tickets and more information can be found on the individual venue sites or at curtisstigers.com
Postmen are traditionally more fond of cats than dogs, given the occupational hazards involved with the latter.
But Seann Walsh was surprised to discover his postie was meowing at his dog, Mildred, to wind her up in the mornings.
So he confronted him, and cringes on his podcast Oh My Dog! that the telling-off almost made the postie cry. “He said, ‘I’m sorry, I thought we were having a laugh’,” Seann says. To relieve the awful tension, Seann pretended he was joking, and now joins in with the meowing to make the postman feel better – no doubt to the horror of poor, confused Mildred.