Dear friends, family, and anyone who I’ve been lucky enough to cross paths with,
The last few years of life and music have been amazing. Music has brought me to some of the greatest people I’ve ever met, places I’ve ever seen, and experiences. Even in the last few months while visiting the UK, I have just been blown away by the humans I have crossed paths with and the new friends I’ve made.
Because of these experiences, I realize that I’ve changed and grown so much as an artist. To the point where now, I truly feel different and maybe even complete. I feel that now I am finally able to express myself the way I’ve always wanted to. It has taken an incredible amount of time and effort, but I am truly grateful to be here now.
For that reason I am sad yet happy to announce that the December 14th Release Party at Jam Café will be my last performance as Joey Marcantonio, and that starting in 2018 I will be performing and releasing music exclusively as Joey Costello in honor of my maternal grandparents and mother.
For me, being a Costello meant that we are first genuine and kind people. My grandparents were truly examples of this, and they may also have been the most romantic couple one could imagine. They were truly two birds… as they say.
There are days when I think of my own romantic and poetic inclinations, and the person whom I most identify in this way is my late Grandfather. Whom during the second world-war wrote some truly beautiful and pure love letters to my Grandmother. They would reunite and go on to have four beautiful girls, whom they raised well and protected, one of those girls would be my mother. And she is one of the most kind-hearted, devoted, and loving people I have ever met. And her three sisters (Denice, Joan, and Maureen) are pretty amazing as well.
With this, I also need to honor the Marcantonio name and family. To me my birth given surname has always made me proud. My father and late grandparents possess such devotion and determination. We take great pride in discipline, hard work, and structure. We are kind people, we keep our word, and we follow through. We say what we mean and we mean what we say. And by default, we hold ourselves to be as good of people as we can. And… we talk to everyone and make them feel welcome . :)
In my heart, I am blessed to be equally both of these names. But right now I feel very connected to the Costello name as an artist. So I am sad yet happy to announce I will be making this change. I’m not saying I’ll never play/release music again as Joey Marcantonio, but this feels like the right thing to do. I hope you all understand it.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I appreciate it greatly.
Best,
Joey