Richie Kotzen

Born on 3 February 1970, in Reading, Pennsylvania, Richie Kotzen is an acclaimed American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter who began playing piano guitar at a young age, drawing inspiration from a diverse range of genres including rock, blues, jazz, and funk. He first gained prominence in the early 1990s as a member of the glam metal band Poison, contributing to their hit 1993 album Native Tongue. He also joined the group Mr. Big as a guitarist and vocalist in the late 1990s. His solo career further solidified his reputation as a prolific artist, and he went on to amass a stash of releases, from his first self-titled offering (1989) to LPs like the hard rock-driven Get Up (2004), Peace Sign (2009) and Cannibals (2015), forging collaborations with artists such as funk rock fusion guitarist Steve Saluto (for his album Rough Beat) along the way. He marked 2024 with the release of new album Nomad, taking in a multitude of styles—from jazz to R&B—that have sustained his genre-spanning career for nearly four decades.