Description
Lanesboro Arts is proud to present Minnesota songwriter Chris Koza in an intimate listening-room environment at the historic St. Mane Theatre in downtown Lanesboro, MN on Saturday, July 14th, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. This concert will also serve as the capstone event of a mini-residency with Chris Koza, who is returning to town after a pair of 2017 events at the High Court Pub, to live and work in Lanesboro all week to participate in various storytelling, songwriting and music events with area residents; supported by the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council.
Koza is a singer-songwriter-composer living and working in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the climate, the mighty Mississippi River and the balance of large city and rural communities offer him continued inspiration. Critics have taken note ranging from local press: “The man’s got ‘pop’ down!” (Minnesota Monthly) to national attention: Paste Magazine calls Rogue Valley one Minnesota’s best bands. Koza performs with regularity in the Twin Cities, the greater Minnesota region, and also nationally, supporting such artists as Brandi Carlile, The Jayhawks, Blitzen Trapper, Stephen Kellogg, Tift Merrit, and Field Report.
Koza grew up in Portland, Oregon and studied piano throughout elementary school before expanding to guitar, euphonium, and theater/voice while in high school. Koza first came to Minnesota to attend St. Olaf College where he studied music theory and participated in the men’s freshman choir and jazz ensemble. He began writing original songs and lyrics, and seeking a broad liberal arts exposure, decided not to pursue a music major and instead graduated with a B.A. in Studio Art (oil painting) and Philosophy.
After college, Koza began writing, recording, performing, and producing his own compositions. In 2004 he released his first solo album Exit Pesce followed by 2006’s Patterns and A Friend of a Friend. These releases were met with warm critical acclaim by key critics in the Twin Cities and led to regional touring and recognition.
Koza moved to Minnesota for good in the fall of 2007, after spending the the previous six years splitting time between Portland, Minneapolis, and New York City. In 2008 he released The Dark Delirious Morning which built on the goodwill of earlier releases. With a full band, he headlined the famed First Avenue in Minneapolis and played over 150 shows regionally and nationally.
In 2010 Koza began a cycle of albums with his new ensembled Rogue Valley and performance at the historic Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. Beginning with the Spring release Crater Lake, Koza and the band released four full length albums in one year, each released timed for a season. The Summer and Autumn albums, The Bookseller’s House and Geese in the Flyway followed and the project culminated in April of 2011 with False Floors in a multimedia dance/video/music performance at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis.
Lately, Koza has utilized his role as a musician in educational and outreach opportunities. During the winter of 2013, Koza was artist in residence and produced a performance with the Hopkins High School Orchestra. Later that year through the aid of grant funding, Koza and Rogue Valley spent a week in Koochiching County visiting schools and engaging with students before performing at the Backus Community Center in International Falls. Additionally, Koza is a regular guest musician and lecturer at McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul and at the Institute of Production and Recording in Minneapolis.
Over the last several years, Koza and his band Rogue Valley have released a total of nine albums and EP’s. In addition to writing and recording his own music, Koza is also involved with co-writing and arranging songs with other artists, and is exploring commercial and film opportunities. Koza’s songs have been featured on numerous television shows including ABC’s Cougartown; MTV’s Jersey Shore and Matt & Kim; and CBS’s 2013 Superbowl pregame show. International musicblog Americana UK gave Koza’s most recent solo release, The Dark, Delirious Morning, 9 out of 10 stars, calling it “an unpretentious little masterpiece.” In Fall of 2014, Koza released his latest solo record, In Real Time, and embarked on a national tour in support of his album with indie pop singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson.