Biography

Amelia Curran is a songwriter, vocalist, writer, and activist whose music combines buoyant melodies with literate, purposeful lyrics that deal with concerns both personal and universal. Curran was born in 1979 in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. She developed a keen interest in music in her teens, and after several attempts to restring her brother's left-handed guitar so she could play it right-handed, Curran got a guitar of her own for Christmas when she was 16. Once Curran became fluent on the instrument, she began writing songs, and eventually dropped out of college to devote herself to music full-time, busking on the streets when she couldn't land paying gigs. She formed a band called the SenseAmelia Project, and in 2001 they released an independent album, Trip Down Little Road. While the band fared well in the Canadian Maritimes and the album enjoyed regional success, Curran also wanted to follow her dream of a solo career, and she self-released a pair of albums she recorded on her own, Barricade (2001) and Lullabies for Barflies (2002). By 2006, Curran had broken up the group, and she recorded a solo effort, War Brides. The album received positive reviews, and was nominated for two East Coast Music Awards, as Folk Recording of the Year and Female Solo Recording of the Year. Following the success of War Brides, Lullabies for Barflies was given a digital reissue by Sandbar Music, and in 2009 she struck a deal with the independent Six Shooter label and issued the album Hunter, Hunter. (Curran said the title was a play on the phrase "Hunter, Gatherer.") Hunter, Hunter earned Curran more East Coast Music Awards nominations, as well as a Juno Award for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year. While War Brides and Hunter, Hunter were largely recorded with just a pair of musicians accompanying Curran, 2012's Spectators found her expanding her creative boundaries, with a bigger and more diverse variety of backing musicians and a glossier production. They Promised You Mercy followed in 2014, which found Curran experimenting with rock-oriented arrangements. As the album was released, Curran went public with her struggles with depression and anxiety; she would become a vocal advocate for reforms in the Canadian mental health system, as well as co-founding It's Mental, a nonprofit organization designed to boost awareness of mental health issues and helping to provide education, services, and support. Curran's activist side would also inform her 2017 album, Watershed, with several songs addressing issues of sexism in the music industry and within Canadian culture. When not working on her music, Curran has also written several experimental theater pieces that have been produced at fringe culture festivals. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi