chuck e costa music bio Chuck E. Costa is a fresh voice delivering an interesting mix of unique, intimate and honest songs. He draws on a range of influences creating music unfettered by time or place, defying common labels like "folk-pop." Chuck's songwriting explores subtle yet significant themes with the tacit goal of challenging his audiences to think (or re-think) about what may often be taken for granted and his honest enthusiasm continually permeates audiences at each live performance. His powerful and sincere vocals (comparisons range from Jonathan Edwards to Michael Stipe) and acoustic guitar delivery seamlessly complement the lyrical content of the songs. Chuck's songwriting and performance skills have received national recognition from several festivals this year. Chuck was raised in New York City, part of an Italian family with a mother from Norway, which may be partly responsible for the creative breadth of Chuck's musical expression. After receiving a degree in philosophy from the University of Colorado and studying with poet Lorna Dee Cervantes, Chuck left Colorado to play music in the Northeast. He has shared the stage with such diverse nationally touring acts as; The Weepies, Pete Seeger, The Samples, Andrew Bird, Grey Eyed Glances, October Project to name a few. Chuck has released three albums to date including his latest "Where the Songs Come From." Costa recorded this latest collection at Signature Sounds Studio (Pomfret CT) with production help from Mark Thayer and a top notch band.Ê The results serve the songs and capture Costa's strengths. Chuck's song "Able" was chosen as a "first-five" semi-finalist in the Newsong Contest, part of the prestigious Mountain Stage Newsong Festival(2004) and was recently featured on NPR's "All Songs Considered" open mic. Chuck was a finalist in the Solarfest (VT) singer/songwriter showcase (2004) He was a finalist in the Great Waters Folk Festival (NH) songwriting competition (2005) an honorable mention in the Telluride Bluegrass Troubadour Contest (2005) . Chuck's song "When the City Comes" from his latest release was recently chosen to be part of a compilation CD to be released by HEAR Music in April and featured in every STARBUCKS location in North America! Chuck resides on the shoreline of Connecticut where he is perpetually writing songs and regularly performing throughout the Northeast. Selected Venues played: The Towne Crier, Pawling, NY The Living Room, New York, NY The Bitterend, New York, NY The Space, Hamden CT Fordham University, New York, NY Toad's Place, New Haven, CT Vanilla Bean Cafe, Pomfret, CT The Roaring Brook Nature Center, Canton, CT The Buttonwood Tree, Middletown, CT Uncommon Ground, Chicago, IL Genghis Cohen, Los Angeles, CA Newsong Festival, Charlestown, W. VA Great Waters Folk Festival, Wolfeboro, NH Solarfest, Poultney, VT Pioneer Arts Center (P.A.C.E.) Easthampton, MA Luna's Cafe, Sacramento, CA Brainwash, San Francisco, CA Fiddler's Dream, Phoenix, AZ Atomic Cantina, Albuquerque, NM Micks, Omaha, NE All Gallery, New Haven, CT Emerson Umbrella Center for the Arts, Concord, MA All Asia Cafe, Cambridge, MA Zeitgeist Gallery, Cambridge, MA Emerson College, Boston, MA The Perch, Boston College, MA Acoustic Coffee, Portland, ME Radio Bean, Burlington, VT The Puppet House Theatre, Branford, CT Pennylane Coffeehouse, Boulder, CO Madison Arts Barn, Madison, CT Cafe Nine, New Haven CT Sono Caffeine, Norwalk, CT