KOZELSKI

Called a "music scene stalwart" by the Charleston City Paper, Jeff Kozelski has been an integral force in South Carolina's music landscape for more than two decades. A guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer, Jeff studied guitar theory under Columbia, SC legend Robert Newton III — a guru who had performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Percy Sledge, and Patti LaBelle. Jeff first earned regional fame as co-founder of the jam-rock band King Hippo, which toured the Southeast relentlessly from 1999 to 2007, recording three albums including a live set featuring the James Brown Horns. After King Hippo, he played stints with Darius Rucker, Danielle Howle, and a project called Foot alongside members of Band of Horses. Moving to Charleston in 2008, he formed The Outervention, releasing two albums and touring New York, Philadelphia, and Charlotte before launching his self-titled solo project. His debut LP Systematic Static (2018) earned a Charleston City Paper feature praising its "rollicking guitar-centric grooves" and "Wilco-esque bent toward experimentation and layered arrangements." The follow-up, Collector (2021), was recorded at Fairweather Studios with Wes Powers (Sol Driven Train), Alan Brisendine, and Jon Moore (Shonuff). The City Paper selected it among their 2021 best music picks, calling its tracks "groove-heavy, lyrical tracks brimming with scrappy guitar riffs" and noting Jeff's evolution while channeling early influences like Jimi Hendrix and Jerry Garcia. You can find Jeff playing throughout the region almost every night of the week — whether sitting in with Grateful Dead tribute band The Reckoning at the Pour House, leading The Spare Kings at The Establishment on Broad Street, performing as KODA at High Cotton, or teaching the next generation of guitarists at Encore Music in Mount Pleasant, where he's been on staff since 2009.