Singer/songwriter Chris Koza is an internationally-recognized artist who has released a dozen albums over the past several years. He performs regularly as a solo artist and with his band, Rogue Valley, at top Twin Cities’ venues (First Avenue, The Fitzgerald Theater) and festivals (Basilica Block Party, MN State Fair, Iceland Airwaves), and has extensively toured the US, sharing the stage with artists like Andrew Bird, The Jayhawks, Lucinda Williams, Mason Jennings, Nellie McKay, Brandi Carlile, and Tift Merrit, among others.
Koza’s compositions have been featured on television for ABC, MTV, and CBS as well as numerous local and national commercials. His song "The Wolves and the Ravens" was featured in 20th Century Fox’s feature film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Paste Magazine calls Rogue Valley one Minnesota’s best bands, and Koza continues to receive extensive critical-acclaim from both local and national press.
Sleepwalkers part 1 is Chris’s 7th solo release, following Exit Pesce (2004), Patterns (2006), A Friend of a Friend EP (2006), The Dark Delirious Morning (2008), In Real Time (2014) and Beyond the Divide: A Film Soundtrack (2014). Additionally, Chris has also released 5 albums with his band Rogue Valley and 2017’s electro-pop collection Off The Screen under the moniker Nobody Kid. In addition to releasing and producing his own music, Chris is also involved with other projects including performing with Minnesota-based artists The New Standards and Little Fevers. Chris also records and produces other artists, most recently 2 EPs for buzzworthy rockers Early Eyes.
The music Chris produces is rooted in Americana but heeds its own spirit. Born out of folk, country, storytelling and rock ’n roll, Chris both honors and builds on Americana traditions by incorporating a unique pop-music sensibility, subtle synthesizers, rich harmonies, and imaginative production choices. But despite late-night deep dives in the studio, Chris never strays from the core of the song itself and isn’t afraid to let a raw vocal and woodsy acoustic guitar deliver the story. Chris performs solo, as a duo, and with a band of almost any other configuration.
