By Conner Toffan

Local artist performing at music festival for the first time

Jan 21, 2019 | 4:56 PM

Medicine Hat, AB– Starting at an open mic night over ten years ago, Christie Kurpjuweit didn’t plan for her music career to come as far as it has.

Kurpjuweit will be performing on Wednesday night at the Tongue On The Post Winter Music Festival. Her performance will happen at Medalta in a smaller venue which will allow for a more intimate performance.

“Intimate settings are really special because I feel like you connect a little better to the people you are singing to and sharing your stories with,” said Kurpjuweit.

Kurpjuweit was born and raised in Medicine Hat and performing locally can be special for her.

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“In my early twenties, after playing guitar for several years, I decided ‘I should just give this a shot with singing’ and to be able to now, ten years down the road, share this with people that have seen me grow up in this town and see all the different things I do, it’s been a pretty cool experience,” said Kurpjuweit.

Being a mother of four, having a side job of cleaning and selling skin-care and makeup keeps Kurpjuweit busy but performing at this festival has always been a goal for her.

“I lose sight of what my goals are sometimes and it’s like, ‘okay I need to still strive for these events for Medicine Hat and even further that I want to aim for’ and it’s extremely exciting to be a part of it.”

But being a mother of four, one of them being a daughter appropriately named Harmony, can also be a source of inspiration for Kurpjuweit.

“When my son was born I wrote a song for him which was really dear to my heart of course, it’s tough with four children to get as much creative thought time in but just my children and that part of my life is a big part of my passion right now.”

The intimate setting means that she’ll be performing more personal songs like that one.

“I find that when you’re playing in pubs you tend to lean towards the cover songs that people recognize, they know and they enjoy,” said Kurpjuweit.

If you can’t make it to her performance on Wednesday you can also search up @christiejmusic on Facebook to see more of her work.