FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Shannon and Jamie are crisscrossing the country once again on their mission of MAXIMUM JOY — and this time they're bringing the 80s with them!

When their 2023 album "Good to Me" started gaining traction internationally, synthpop spouses Shannon Curtis and Jamie Hill were faced with an unexpected question: how to extend their typical one-year album cycle while not interrupting their favorite couples activity — making recordings together.

Their answer was to start working their way down a list that they'd been keeping since they first met in 2006 — of songs from their 1980s childhoods that they thought it might be fun to someday record their own versions of.

But where most artists attempt to put their own spin on cover songs, Curtis and Hill took an intentionally different approach: they attempted to recreate as closely as possible the feeling in the original recordings. 

The one twist: Curtis would be lending her soaring alto to a collection of songs sung originally by men.

The result is an album of reverent renditions of all-time classic 80s synthpop songs, in which all the recordings are faithful to the most exacting details of the original versions — but which also somehow manage to add up to what sounds for all the world like a seamless debut album from an electrifying new artist.

"80s kids" is a remarkable record. Each song sounds simultaneously period-appropriate and modern; exactly like the original, but also brand new. Curtis and Hill deftly hit every single one of the molecularly familiar emotional notes that fans of 80s music expect from these songs — but more often than not hit them more satisfyingly than the original artists did. 

Most remarkably, a number of the songs on "80s kids" are flat-out better than the original versions — no mean feat for an album comprised of ten of the most well-loved songs of all time. A-ha's "Take On Me" and Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer," to name two, are both noticeably more exciting and emotional than the originals — as is OMD's John Hughes soundtrack classic "If You Leave."

The 80s kids concert tour that Curtis and Hill are bringing around the country in 2025 promises to be a high-energy affair, packed from beginning to end with some of the biggest and most iconic hits of the 80s. 

An early peek at the setlist reveals songs by a-ha, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, and OMD — as well as smashes by Depeche Mode, New Order, Alphaville, The Human League, and many more iconic 80s favorites.

In keeping with Curtis and Hill's 2025 theme of "MAXIMUM JOY," the 80s kids shows will be focused on inclusion and community, with audience members invited to dance on stage, an 80s photo booth with neon props, and a pervasive group singalong vibe throughout the evening.

80s dress is highly encouraged; there will be freebies at the merch table for anyone sporting era-appropriate fashion. Leg warmers and fingerless gloves, anyone?

80s kids is a nostalgic and joyous singalong show that's kid-tested and parent-approved!

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live video: https://youtu.be/Ggq_5XLJCpU
music: https://shannoncurtis.bandcamp.com/album/80s-kids
tickets and more info: https://shannoncurtis.net