Martin Curtis
Martin Curtis is a leading New Zealand folksinger and songwriter. Biography. Born in Great Britain on 7 February 1944, he came to New Zealand in 1964. In 1976, he and his wife Kay went to Wānaka in Central Otago in the South Island to manage a youth hostel in the town for two weeks. They loved the place, and stayed. They now live in the Cardrona Valley, near Wānaka. His love of the area is reflected in the large number of songs he has written about the district. Martin runs the annual Cardrona Folk Festival that takes place  every Labour Weekend. (New Zealand's Labour Day falls on the 4th Monday of October.) He is also responsible for organising tours of New Zealand by top folk musicians, mainly from Britain, but including Eric Bogle from Australia and Jeremy Taylor from South Africa. He has produced a number of albums. His 1982 debut album, "Gin and Raspberry", is recognised by the New Zealand Recording Industry Association as the best-selling New Zealand folk music album. His 2008 album "Sea to Summit" was one of three contenders for the 2009 Tui Award for the best New Zealand folk music album  of the year. Discography. 1982: Gin and Raspberry 1986: Back from the Hills 1990: The Daisy Patch 1994: Save the Wilderness 1996: Off to the Dry Cardrona 1998: Below the High Country 2000: Let's Sing a Kiwi Song (children's album) 2002: Beyond a Climber's Moon 2004: Otago, My Home (DVD) 2008: Sea to Summit See also. List of folk musicians External links. Martin Curtis Home Page: http://www.martincurtis.co.nz/ Cardrona Folk Festival: http://www.martincurtis.co.nz/cardrona.html References. Folk musician's chance for glory, p. 48, "Otago Daily Times", 24 Jan 2009