SJM_People_Kenny Curcio_823_layout 10 / 19 / 23 1 : 51 PM Page 1 These stripped - down , two - man per - formances give Curcio an opportunity to return to his roots , quite literally . The Medford native and Shawnee High School grad recently chatted with South Jersey Magazine about finding the silver linings in loss , the importance of per - sonal connections , and why humility , authenticity and grit make for a winning combination if you want something badly enough . So how does a Jersey boy find his way to Q & A country music ? I grew up listening to classic rock and blues and some Motown . … In the 2000s , when I was getting close to entering high school , that’s when I started listening to country . A good friend of mine , Matt Morris , introduced me to Toby Keith and Kenny Chesney . … It kind of went from by Madeleine Maccar there . My influences are some country , but I still have rock roots , the blues roots in there . I just appreciate all kinds of music and I want to mesh it all together . From New When did you start playing music , and how were you introduced to it ? When I was 8 years old , we had this old family organ . I didn’t really know how to play but I loved kind of jumping on there Jersey to and figuring things out . In [ Medford Memorial ] middle school , I had a music class and my teacher was a big influ - ence — Miss Cecil . In class one day , we had this project where we had to create a song Nashville on the keyboard that went with , like , a 30 - second clip of a movie . I just thought that MEDFORD NATIVE KENNY CURCIO TOOK A LEAP OF was cool and took a liking to that . FAITH WHEN HE MADE HIS WAY TO MUSIC CITY FIVE When I was 12 , my mom and dad got YEARS AGO TO LAUNCH HIS SINGER / SONGWRITER me a guitar for Christmas . … My dad got sick in September of that year , and he CAREER . WITH HIS SUMMERTIME SINGLE “ JERSEY ended up passing away March 7 , a few SHORE ” MAKING SERIOUS WAVES SINCE ITS EARLY months after I got that guitar . JUNE RELEASE , THINGS ARE LOOKING BRIGHT FOR Do you still have that guitar from your THIS COUNTRY MUSICIAN FROM THE NORTHEAST . parents ? That’s what I played through high school , and it’s the guitar I brought to college . My It’s a mid - July evening , a comparatively balmy one after a first year in college , I was playing some stretch of scorching summer days . As a gentle breeze winds through local bars and coffee shops , and after a the open field at the Valenzano Winery’s pavilion , up - and - coming country musician month or so of playing , I left that guitar in Kenny Curcio and his writing partner Al Panaccio are laying down some hot licks and my car . The next day , somebody had twangy covers they’ve made their own , betraying a vast songbook that can only come broken into all these cars , there were from a lifetime of multi - genre inspirations and a genuine love of music . smashed windshields everywhere . As I got Curcio made his way to Nashville five years ago , and is currently back in his native closer to my car , I’m like , “ Oh man , you Burlington County as he moves through the South Jersey circuit in support of his newest gotta be kidding me ” — you could see the single , “ Jersey Shore , ” an upbeat ballad doubling as a love letter to the fondly regarded pieces of wood on the ground , that guitar seaside towns of Curcio’s youth . This months - long tour will ping - pong Curcio between was in a million pieces . his longtime home and the one he adopted as he makes a name for himself in the Not only did I lose my father physi - country music scene , having already shared the stage with some of its biggest names at cally , but that was the last gift that he gave the likes of the Barefoot Country Music Festival — twice . SOUTH JERSEY MAGAZINE volume 20 issue 7 SouthJerseyMagazine.com 46 |