Heidi Curtis On Her Debut EP “Hollow Heart”

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Heidi Curtis On Her Debut EP “Hollow Heart”

Song To The Siren

May 29, 2026 By Andy Von Pip Photography by Jay Davison

Newcastle singer-songwriter Heidi Curtis is quickly becoming one of the UK’s most talked-about new voices. Support slots alongside Florence + The Machine, Lewis Capaldi and Self Esteem, plus a recent tour with Holly Humberstone, have brought her music to some of the biggest stages in the country, and audiences are clearly taking notice. Ahead of her debut EP Hollow Heart, we caught up with Heidi to talk about the long road to releasing music, the joy of songwriting, and the whirlwind rise of the past year.

“I’ve been loving the reaction,” Curtis laughs. “I’ve spent enough time waiting to put out music, so now it’s really nice to finally release songs and see people connecting with them.”

Music has been a constant in her life for as long as she can remember. Growing up in Newcastle, some of her earliest memories were spent sitting at her cousin’s piano during family visits, fascinated by the instrument.

“I was super young, maybe two or three,” she recalls. “He was amazing at piano, and I’d just sit there completely drawn to it.”

A few years later, a piano gifted by a family friend became the centre of her world. Curtis began playing every day, writing poems, stories, and little songs from the age of seven or eight. But it was discovering guitar in her early teens that really changed everything. She would borrow her brother’s guitar while he was away working at sea, teaching herself to play until gradually writing songs became second nature.

“I’d just sit in my room for hours with the guitar,” she says. “That’s the beauty of learning it, it gives you this privacy to write songs and figure things out for yourself.”

By 13, Curtis felt she was writing songs she genuinely connected with, and it was then she realised music was more than a hobby.

“I thought, ‘Oh, this is my thing. This is what I want to do with my life.’”

Rather than rushing into releasing music, Curtis spent years honing her craft and developing her sound behind the scenes.

“Everyone kept saying, ‘Don’t put music out yet, just keep working at it,’” she explains. “And then suddenly it feels like I blinked and I’m here.”

She began performing at open mic nights around North Shields while still in her early teens.

“The first time I played one of my own songs, I was about 13,” she says. “It was at the Exchange in North Shields, at a regular event called Ray Rowley’s Sunday Originals. The audience was basically a bunch of nannas and grandads, and honestly, it was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been. Playing your own music for the first time is terrifying. But after that, I felt like I could play anywhere. There are so many open mic nights locally that you can just grab your guitar and end up doing multiple gigs in one night. The support for local, up-and-coming musicians up here is amazing.”

Growing up in North Shields, with the River Tyne and the sea right on her doorstep, the local geography naturally became part of her songwriting.

“There’s something magical about living by the water,” she says. “My brother, my uncles and my grandads all worked at sea, so growing up I was surrounded by those stories and that whole world. I think coastal towns have this natural folklore and mysticism to them. You hear stories in pubs, old sea songs, and local legends. What inspires me most is the contrast here. You’ve got beautiful scenery alongside abandoned industrial sites, old mining towns, factories, and pylons. It’s rugged but beautiful at the same time.”

That atmosphere runs throughout Hollow Heart, particularly on tracks inspired by the coastline and surrounding landscape.

“So songs like ‘Siren’ came directly from living here,” she explains. “You can walk down by the river and see shipwrecks and the rocks called the Middens, where ships would run aground. It’s such an inspiring place.”

Discussing her musical influences, Curtis points to Stevie Nicks, in particular, as a huge inspiration on the sound and atmosphere running through the EP.

“I absolutely adore Stevie Nicks, especially in Fleetwood Mac,” she says. “There’s so much love and melancholy, but also this really dark mysticism that runs straight through the songs. That really inspired my writing.”

Her approach pulls from a wide range of influences, combining atmospheric songwriting with a rawer guitar-led edge.

“I love anything on the guitar that’s open tunings or slightly bluesy,’ she explains. ‘Someone recently described my music as Kate Bush meets Nirvana, which I thought was awesome because I do feel like there’s that grunginess, but also the folk and blues rock side too.”

For Curtis, songwriting is rarely something she can force; instead describing it as a process of staying open and allowing ideas to arrive naturally.

“You do have to keep showing up,” she says. “But I think you’ve got to create the environment for a song as well. Sometimes you’ve got to refresh your environment and not stick too hard to one method. If your brain were like a beacon, you’ve got to let it spin around so the song can come in.”

Over the past few years, she has also learned a great deal from supporting established artists, including local hero Sam Fender, CMAT and Holly Humberstone. Watching those artists up close gave her a clearer understanding of both the demands of touring and the level of dedication required to sustain a career.

“I don’t think you ever know how far to push yourself until you see how far somebody else pushes themselves,” she says. “Being around seasoned songwriters and hardworking musicians who’ve really done their time is incredibly inspiring. With someone like CMAT, I’d been listening to her for years before all of this attention came. Then suddenly she’s playing two nights at Alexandra Palace. Seeing that happen reminds you that everyone’s journey is different.”

Despite now performing to increasingly larger audiences, and playing live with a full band, Curtis says she still enjoys the unpredictability of stripped-back support slots and solo performances.

“The most frustrating thing back then was people asking where they could hear or stream the songs and me having to say there wasn’t anything out yet,” she says. “Now when I play support shows, there’ll be people singing along or recognising songs, which is really special.”

She adds: “I actually really enjoy solo shows because I can slow things down, change arrangements and play around more. I enjoy both types of shows for different reasons.”

Watching audiences connect emotionally with live music has also changed the way she thinks about performing.

“One of the most inspiring things is seeing people in the audience crying to songs,” she says. “You realise that’s what it’s all about. Being side stage and watching those reactions has been really beautiful.”

Despite signing with AWAL and building wider momentum, Curtis says the Newcastle and North Shields music scene remains central to who she is as an artist.

“I joined the YMCA music group when I was about 12 or 13 and everyone always took me under their wing,” she says. “The scene’s always been really supportive. You do have to put yourself out there, but I’ve never found it hostile.”

She speaks warmly about grassroots venues like the Cluny and the network of independent promoters who tirelessly champion emerging artists, though she’s equally mindful of how easily those spaces can disappear.

“You need those venues to learn and make mistakes,” she says. “That’s part of becoming a musician. Some of the biggest artists started in those rooms.”

Hollow Heart arrivestioday ( May 29,) alongside festivals and European dates including performances in the Netherlands, Germany and a headline show in Amsterdam, with radio support from BBC Introducing and DJ Jo Whiley adding further wind to her sails. A headline tour of her own is already in the early stages of planning.

“The goal is just to get the music to as many people as possible,” she says. “Keep gigging, keep growing and keep building things naturally.”

www.heidicurtis.com