PREVIEW: Curtis Eller's American Circus
Curtis Eller’s American Circus show has been touring extensively since March, taking in the sights of the US before hitting the UK and Ireland and will not take a breather until the end of August when they will play the Festival of Folk Arts in Budapest, Hungary.
Born in Detroit, Curtis Eller started out in show business at the age of 7 as a juggler and acrobat when his father ran the Hiller Old Tyme Circus in Detroit, Michigan. But it wasn’t until later in life that he took up his favoured instrument, the banjo.
Setting off for New York, Eller found himself heavily touring the local scene from bars to burlesque halls, and it was there where he earned the title of New York’s ‘angriest yodelling banjo player’.
His current band ‘American Circus’ were formed when Eller uprooted to North Carolina and assembled a band to create and perform music with a difference, “inelegant rock and roll outfit specializing in banjo music for funerals, gospel tunes for atheists and novelty dance fads for amputee” as the man himself puts it.
His music has that old time feel about it and is influenced greatly from the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s while also drawing inspiration from American history. The high energy performances are as physical as they are musical, and he has gained a following throughout the world.
Sandinos has been known as Derry’s very own bohemian pub so Curtis Eller and his American Circus band should feel at home and the audience will be in for a treat, an energetic yet intimate performance in Sandino’s Back Bar.
>> You can catch Curtis Eller’s American Circus on Friday 7th August in Sandinos Back Bar at 9.30pm, with tickets priced at £7
