Richie Kotzen

Richie Kotzen can still bring it. His style has changed over the years from a pure shredder to a soulful blues-rock artist. He can still shred with the best players out there, but he does a good job of building powerful songs. Definitely a 'must-see' act is you get the chance.

To say Richie Kotzen is a guitar virtuoso is an understatement; after all the Pennsylvania born axe man has been playing since the age of 7. Richie and his band (Dylan Wilson on bass and Mike Bennett on percussion), looped the Salting Earth World Tour around for a second stop in New York City at the recently open Sony Hall on 46th Street. With his signature Sunburst Fender Telecaster in hand, Kotzen opened the set with the 2009 release Your Entertainer. Richie s shows are far from glitz and glamour: They are about THE MUSIC. Playing without a pick, he shredded through the Kotzen classics Love is Blind, Go Faster, Fooled Again and High. With High on the last leg of the tour being done acoustically, it was a treat to see it performed electric. Richie is a true road warrior, living for performing live. So it is only fitting that the highlight of the evening for most in attendance was the poignant ballad The Road. For this song, Richie was in front of his KORG keyboard, another instrument among many, the rocker plays with extreme precision. Rarely done live, the song is almost Hymn-like, and with Kotzen s beautiful mournful tone/range, it played beautifully in the concert hall. The beautiful ash Fender Strat made its appearance for the encore. Richie and crew closed the show with War Paint, off of his Cannibals collection. Wilson and Bennett are fine musicians in their own right, playing with Kotzen for years now and being the perfect compliments to this musical genius. The 2018 leg of this tour continues Friday 4-20-18 in New Hope, PA. Opening at Sony Hall was Les Stroud, who most folks will know as the host of Discovery Channel s Survivorman. This evening, however, Les provided some serious harmonica skills and blues type tunes that held environmental messages. Pat Cacioppo 04-19-18

The guy is a can't miss. I would make time to see one of the more under appreciated guitarist and vocalist. Great show.

Got turned on to Richie a few years ago when a friend asked me to go see The Winery Dogs. That show blew my mind , and have dug deeply into Richie's solo stuff since. And turned on many more friends and family to his music. SPREAD THE WORD !! This was now my 3rd time seeing Richie and his band. I've been to a lot of shows, A LOT! And these 3 dudes continue to blow my face off every time. Highly recommended for anyone who loves raw talent and skill with great songwriting to boot. I know I'll be seeing these boys again. ........ and venue ?, Awesome ! Brand spankin new !, Small, Clean, vintage feel , with killer sound. Acoustics are great cause it is down a few stories below street level. 5 stars

The venue was nice, great sound, the only thing that bothered me was a group of guys smoking weed near me and all of us around noticed, but aside from them, all perfect

Richie is one the the greatest guitarists that seemingly most of the world has never heard of! Highly recommended, wether you are familiar with his music or not!

Richie Kotzen never disappoints. Great guitarist & a talented musician.

Richie is unbelievable - he sounds better live. I'd see him again and again.

Outstanding show!!! No words to describe it...wow!!!!!

If you don't know who Richie Kotzen is, learn fast! Incredible guitarist, vocalist & song writer! Amazing live performer!

Richie was great but left halfway thru the show because we had to stand!

The singular best show I have ever seen! Richie is simply amazing and his band is tight! I only wish he would play in my area more often!

One of the best entertainers you never heard of. Simply put great show music spot on A+

Richie is one of the best musicians around. You should see him playing live

This was a first. I've never seen Richie before, so I was extra excited to go. He was completely entertains and amazing. Hearing his music is one thing, but watching him play guitar ( without a pick especially) is mind blowing. Performing a solid 2 hours, and a few jams in the set. He did a lot of new material which I wasn't familiar with, but it didn't matter. His command of the stage and guitar was brilliant.

Richie Kotzen's does it all...fabulous guitar, keyboard player, good songwriter, and killer voice. He can shred with the best of them, be soulful w/ a smooth R&B/ blues vibe, and do great ballads, no sweat. His show at The Rose was great. He featured about 6 songs from his new LP Salting Earth and filled the rest of the show with old favorites. He and his band mixed it up with a 3 song acoustic set as well as 4 or so songs with Richie at keyboards, which he excels at as well. He's a great performer, with a cool vibe and I recommend to get out to see him on this tour. If you can't catch a show get his live DVD "Richie Kotzen Live"....killer live show! Also catch him w/ another band he plays with, The Winery Dogs....stunning rock n roll!

This was my first time seeing Ritchie Kotzen and I really did not know what to expect. Needless to say I was fully impressed not only by the variety of music that he has written (everything from soulful blues and funk to hard driving rock) but also his vocal range! His falsetto was pure and clean and blended seamlessly with his natural voice to give wonderful depth to his performance. His accompanying musicians were nothing short of amazing in their own right and the chemistry between them was playful and loose while being as tight musically as you can be.

Excellent show and venue. Richie is an amazing artist.

Richie Kotzen and his band our spectacular. Each show is unique and a guaranteed all around fun night. You must see him if he comes to your town to perform. You will be guaranteed a great show.

Richie can do it all. Rock, Jazz, Blues, Metal, instrumental Fusion...you name it. And he does it extremely well. He played a very nice sampling from his vast solo Collection. And his voice is just killer. He sings every note with passion and feeling. Go see him on his solo tour. You will not regret it. He is truly Amazing.

Richie Kotzen and his band are great musicians, but the sound sucked big time. I stood by the control booth and even there the sound was a garbled mush. The sound engineer seemed to be truly enjoying the result, so it must be my ears... The opening band had a much better and crisp mix - I thought they sounded great.

Great show and Richie never disappoints. I have seen him four times. Twice solo and twice with The Winery Dogs.

Kotzen's playing is well known, more widely now due to the breakout success of the Winery Dogs, but among guitarists he's been an icon since his 1990 Fever Dream debut recording. What many didn't know until the Winery Dogs is that he's an equally impressive singer and frontman. Fronting the power trio of either his solo band or the Dogs is a perfect vehicle to put Kotzen where his entire career seems to have been aiming. No longer a shredder sideman, Kotzen at front and center highlights his hook-filled, genre-bending songwriting and powerhouse soulful vocals with the jaw-dropping guitar playing that perhaps got him here acting as more of a bonus than a focus. Lets face it, not everyone loves a guitar hero but everyone loves a great voice singing great songs. What we got at Johnny D's was no less than an arena sized show. The modest crowd and small stage didn't take any wind out of the band's sails and they played the show as though half of Brazil were sprawled out in front of them chanting. As a 25 year veteran touring guitarist myself I'll admit the playing was breathtaking and even better in many ways than many of his recordings, but what really shined was his incredible voice. I brought a non-musician, non-rocker young woman as a guest and she turned to me halfway through the show to say "that's the most powerful male falsetto I think I've ever heard live." There you have it. The guitar-heads were never in any danger of disappointment but what Kotzen is doing now is winning the masses. After that show I can say he 100% deserves it.

Richie Kotzen put on an AMAZING show! His singing was incredible, his guitar playing was phenomenal, the entire show was superb. Richie's set was flawless. He sang with such soul and feeling and his guitar playing was akin to the guitar greats of the past. I recommend to everyone, this is a MUST SEE SHOW! I hope Richie tours the east coast again soon. It is not a show to be missed! Showcase Live is such a great venue to see a show and was one of the best places I have been.

One and a half hours of pure talent. First time for me seeing Richie and I will never miss another local appearance. Energy, passion and fire flew from his fingertips. His voice is incomparable and the sound quality was excellent. The drummer and bass player did justice to Richie's songs. Great set opened with Wave of Emotion, Peace Sign, Remember and closing with Paying Dues (my personal favorite from the night) and All along the watch tower for the final encore.......Can't wait till next time..

I'm not the type of person that impresses too easily however, I have to say that this was the best show I've been to since I can't remember when. I'm a big Richie Kotzen fan to begin with. His guitar playing was killer but, his voice was equally amazing. The clincher was the stage set up looked like the equipment a high school band would use. 20 watt Marshall 1/2 stack and he used 1 guitar the whole show. THEN, he didn't even use a pick until something like the last 5 songs. Incredible! The icing on the cake was Showcase Live. What a great place to see a band. Great venue, superb sound system. GREAT NIGHT ALL AROUND!!!!!!

I went to hear some great guitar playing, and got more than I imagined. Richie played his signature telecaster, through what looked like a marshall plexi and cab, with 2 mics on it. He got an amazing variety of really good tones, by making small volume adjustments on his guitar. Everything from shimmering clean jazz tones, crunchy rhythm, killer overdrive, and amazing lead tones from each pickup. Styles varied from rock, jazz, etc..... Richie can cover a lot of styles. There were plenty of ripping solo parts, as well as rocking tunes, and slower tunes..... which were all performed with a great deal of passion. Richies' songs are brilliantly written and performed. His voice was even better than I expected.... world class vocals. The sound system at Showcase Live, in Foxboro, Massachusetts was loud and clear. My only criticisms would be that the kick drum was over the top loud on the low end, and the bass guitar tone was mushy. Overall, it was a stellar performance, by one of the best guitar players I've ever seen. His unique techniques and style made for a very entertaining show.

The show was amazing! I would recommend that anybody check out Richie if they get the chance. There's something for everybody, especially if you play an instrument, or are a singer...this guy is one of the best.

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!!!...HANDS DOWN THE BEST CONCERT I'VE EVER SEEN!!! RICHIE WAS INCREDIBLE...RIPPED IT UP ON THE TELE...BEST VOCALS I'VE EVER HEARD!!!ASTOUNDING AND INSPIRING!!!

Richie Kotzen must be seen to be believed. The man, quite simply, OWNS his guitar. Not to mention his vocal range is every bit as ridiculous as his playing. This is one of the most soulful, well-written song-smiths to come around in a while and if you can see him, you'd be giving yourself a real treat. Criminally underrated in the U.S., Richie is recognized in many other countries for what he truly is: a musical genius. Now stop reading and go catch him!