Musical couple Drew and Kin return to Tecumseh Center for the Arts Saturday, April 22
TECUMSEH — After a three-year hiatus from the Tecumseh Center for the Arts' stage, husband and wife musical team Drew De Four and Kin Curran are coming back to the TCA Saturday, April 22.
The couple brings not only their signature blend of high energy musical requests and original songs, this year they’re also bringing friends, including singer and musician Daniel “Danny K” Korzelius.
The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 22, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. This will be the final performance in the TCA’s 41st Touring Season lineup.
Tickets are $25 to $30 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased by calling 517-423-6617 between noon and 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday or online anytime at thetca.org.
Since making their concert film, "Alive in Tecumseh," at the TCA, De Four and Curran have been performing live around the U.S. at piano bars and private events, playing virtual concerts online and raising their two toddlers, Julien, 4, and Alethea, 3.
“For those who bought a virtual ticket, we received very positive reviews on the concert film, 'Alive in Tecumseh.' We tried to make it more than just a bunch of songs captured with incredible cinematography. There are a lot of narrative elements to it and some unique interaction with a virtual audience. It was made during COVID, so the main through line is optimism and uplifting fun. We are excited to release the full cut this summer,” De Four said.
The couple has played at piano bars or original music venues in almost every major U.S. city, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Poland, Switzerland, Japan, on cruise ships in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, and for troops in the Asia/Pacific and Middle East/Africa regions.
Monday, April 24, is De Four’s 40th birthday.
“The TCA show on Saturday, April 22, will be special because so many friends and family will be in attendance to help me celebrate, which for me means giving everything you have to this precious moment we will all be sharing,” De Four said. “We love to play original music, but only when an audience is expecting it. At piano bars and dueling piano shows, people expect popular music, and our music is not quite famous yet … At the TCA on April 22, we will do half and half because many in attendance are huge fans of our original catalogues.”
Over the years at the TCA, the couple has performed three dueling piano shows, all of which were all-request, cabaret-type shows; a virtual concert; and made the concert film at the TCA.
“All of those performances were incredibly special to us because of the lovely people in attendance and the world class staff at the TCA,” Curran said. “It feels like home at the TCA. It’s close to our literal home in Ypsi. We’ve had local music legend friends like Brad Phillips who graced its stage with Millish long before we played there for the first time, and it’s just got something special that we vibe especially well with.”
De Four grew up in Michigan and attended the University of Michigan where he studied music and theater. A dueling pianist for 20-plus years with more than 2,000 shows and over 2,000 songs in his repertoire, De Four has also written and produced nine records, which are available on all streaming services.
More recently, De Four has worked in film and television, writing and producing music videos (available on YouTube), TV pilots and his first feature film, "Duelers."
“'Duelers' is my first narrative feature film as a writer, composer and actor. It’s a fun story about a group of dueling piano players who don’t know it’s their last night together because the club has been sold,” De Four said. “It’s a great setting to show off this incredible industry and showcase a ton of original music.”
Curran and Korzelius are both in it along with a dozen other professional dueling piano players from around the country. It will be available on most streaming platforms by the end of summer.
Curran grew up in Ohio and studied vocal performance and music education at Eastern Michigan University. She taught music education and choir to K-12 students for 10 years while releasing two albums that are available on most music platforms.
She joined her husband on the stage in 2009 and since then has been around the world multiple times and has played in more than 1,000 shows.
Korzelius grew up in wintry Buffalo, New York, and attended the University of Buffalo for a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in musical theater. As soon as he graduated, he realized some places were sunny all year. He quickly moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, where a buddy convinced him to try dueling pianos.
He had no idea that 15 years and dozens of clubs later he would still be doing it. Korzelius aspires to be as well-rounded a performer as possible. He likes to bring his theater background to the show, with impersonations of everyone from Louis Armstrong to Kermit the Frog to Joe Cocker. He plays all styles of music, but Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder, Marc Cohn and Garth Brooks are some of his favorites.
“Danny K is a powerhouse performer who also wears many hats in the entertainment industry,” De Four said. “He will be playing drums and singing harmony with us — lead on a few songs too. You have to catch his livestreams on Twitch. He has a devoted following for good reason.”
The TCA audience can expect the performers to give it their all and put on a high-energy show.
“The audience at our show can expect to get an enormous dose of energy and optimism. We are lifelong performers who value the audience above all else and recognize our purpose in this precarious existence as being fuel for the long ride,” De Four said. “We want you to sing, clap, dance, sing, laugh, cry, think and feel. We give everything so we are comfortable asking everything, and it’s never failed us. Anyone who has seen us in the past knows.”
The full cut version of the feature film, "Alive in Tecumseh" will be available this summer at www.youtube.com/@drewandkin. Fans can currently get De Four and Curran’s cover songs from the filming, which were a bonus feature on the TCA release.
Korzelius’ livestreams can be viewed at twitch.tv/humanjuke81.
If you go
WHAT: Drew De Four and Kin Curran featuring Danny K
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 22; doors open at 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Tecumseh Center for the Arts, 400 N. Maumee St.
TICKETS: $25 to $30
BUY: Call 517-423-6617 between noon and 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday or online anytime at thetca.org.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Drew and Kin return to Tecumseh Center for the Arts April 22
