Minneapolis folk duo returns to Hoodsport

In the spring of 1977, a young woman with long flowing hair and a guitar caught the eye of Curtis Teague on a beach in Santa Cruz, California. He ran down a trail to greet the stranger.

"I appraised her with loving eyes and said, 'I play guitar too,' " he recalled in a telephone interview with the Journal Monday.

"I said, 'That's nice,'" Loretta Simonet remembered. Curtis returned five minutes later with a mandolin.

They played together publicly that night at her scheduled gig, and they've been together ever since.

The Minneapolis-based husband-and-wife folk duo Curtis & Loretta bring their original songs and traditional pieces - and an arsenal of instruments that include folk harp, madocello, guitars, clawhammer banjo and steel ukulele - to their concert at 3 p.m. Saturday at St. Germain's Church in Hoodsport. Admission is the suggested donation of $15, but no one will be turned away.

This will be the couple's fourth Tall Timbers Presents concert in Hoodsport, but the first at St. Germain's. Two years ago, they performed in Hoodsport on Easter, and helped locals hide easter eggs. "That part of the world is beautiful," he said.

The duo has been touring for 40 years. After the Hoodsport concert, the couple will continue in their mini van to shows near Quilcene, Poulsbo, Kingston, Seattle and the Tri-Cities.

"The whole back is filled with instruments," Curtis said. Along with the many string instruments are kazoos, harmonicas and percussion. Along with their songs, Curtis lends his humor to the shows and Loretta displays her theatrical background.

The couple was awarded the Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, which enables them to perform in many small communities in Minnesota this year and in 2025.

Curtis & Loretta last year released their 10th album, "Lift in the World." The couple wrote the songs during the pandemic, and the album celebrates the important elements in life, from the heartwarming to the heartbreaking.

With the duo's previous album, "When There's Good to Be Done," Loretta wrote about real-life, ordinary people who overcome problems in their lives and emerge stronger. Many of the songs celebrate real people, most of them fellow Minnesotans.

"They're biographical ballads ... I interview people and get the whole story and then I cull it into three-to-five-minute songs," she said.

IF YOU GO

WHO: Folk duo Curtis & Loretta

WHEN: 3 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: St. Germain's Church, 600 N. Lake Cushman Road, Hoodsport

ADMISSION: $15 suggested donation