Semifinalist on last year’s Season 25 of NBC’s “The Voice,” singer-songwriter Madison Curbelo and her band are all tuned up for their first performance of the new year at The Drake in Amherst.
Showtime on Saturday, Jan. 25, is 8 p.m.
Curbelo, who has been busy performing since “The Voice” ended last May, finished off the year on a high note performing with Season One winner Javier Colon at Infinity Music Hall in Hartford on Dec. 21.
“It was a nice little reunion. One of the last songs I sang on ‘The Voice’ was Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Time After Time,’ which Javier sang on his blind audition on ‘The Voice.’ I remember watching him as a little kid on the show and was inspired by his version of her song. Javier found out that I sang the song on the show and that I had mentioned him. He graciously reached out to me on Instagram saying if I needed anything to let him know. We became friends and he is a great mentor who asked me to open for him at the Hartford show. We have sung together a few times and it’s getting better each time. He’s an amazing guy,” Curbelo said.
Curbelo and her band will play a 90-minute set of some 20 songs, both new and old.
“It’s going to be a super fun and upbeat night combined with an intimate acoustic set when it is just me and my red guitar. There will be something for everyone,” Curbelo said.
“There will be fan favorites from ‘The Voice’ and some other popular songs we’ve been doing including ‘Creep’ by Radiohead, ‘Hotel California’ by The Eagles and ‘Linger’ by the Cranberries. I definitely will be doing some of my original works like a slightly different version of ‘My Baby Mine’ and ‘Juliette.’ And I expect to add a new song which will make its debut at the show called ‘Honeymoon,’” she added.
There is a story behind her popular red guitar.
“When I was young, I really wanted to play an instrument. My parents bought me this Hannah Montana training guitar, not really a legitimate guitar. At the age of 12, I got my first big-girl guitar and still have it and named it Big Red. It’s one of those Ovation guitars with a nice round hump on the back, so it’s kind of like a red tank. Over the years it has become my staple. I bring it everywhere when I perform because I know it sounds good and plays well, and it has a wonderful memory attached to it,” Curbelo, who has three red and one bright pink guitar in her collection, said.
Curbelo noted her mom says, “I’ve been singing since I was born,” but it began seriously when she was 9 years old.
Madison Curbelo performs during Season 25 of “The Voice.” (Tyler Golden / NBC)Tyler Golden/NBC
“I attended one of Dan Kane’s Summer Singing Enrichment Camps. It helped me to gain more confidence. I was okay singing in front of family, but otherwise super shy with others. It completely changed my life and by the age of 12, already confident with performing, I began writing and found I could express myself more by using my own words and that once again totally changed my life,” she said.
Curbelo would go on at age 16 in 2019 to appear on “American Idol” and then in 2021 on Season 20 of “The Voice” while a freshman at Berklee College of Music. It was a call from “The Voice” asking her to come back and try again in 2024 that led to her making the semifinals before being voted off.
“I went in with the mindset that this is not going to be the be-all and the end-all for me. Even people who win ‘The Voice’ go on to struggle to breakthrough in the industry. I just really wanted to learn so much and it really felt like a crash course in all things in the music industry and all things Hollywood. They would help us dress ourselves with their big wardrobe team, do our hair and makeup, and we would work with a professional band and professional vocal coach. So, I really went into it not thinking it was going to be my big Hollywood break, but instead being a sponge and soaking up as much as I could and take what I learned and try it on my own. The real work starts after the show,” she said.
As for 2025, Curbelo said she is “blessed to be doing some exciting things.”
“I have gigs currently in the works to perform all over America. There is also a ton of new music that I am working on with different people that will amplify up my style. Hopefully there will be a recording contract. And there are other things I cannot mention until they happen,” she said.
Northampton-based musician and songwriter Lucia Dostal will open for Curbelo. As a songwriter Dostal is known for her collaborative work writing for herself, other musical artists, and sync and supervision opportunities. She specializes in folk, soul and indie pop styles. Dostal graduated from Holland College’s School of Performing Arts (SOPA) and is currently attending Berklee College of Music with a major in Contemporary Writing and Production.
Tickets to Curbelo’s Amherst show, priced at $15 in advance and $20 at the door, are available at thedrakeamherst.org.
