It’s a night of heavy, bluesy rock, catchy soul, and funk riffs as shredding guitar virtuoso Richie Kotzen (Poison, Mr. Big and The Winery Dogs) returns to The Ridgefield Playhouse in support of his latest album, Salting Earth, on Wednesday, April 18 at 8pm, part of the Pepsi Rock Series Powered by Xfinity. Kotzen, who last performed to a packed house at The Playhouse with The Winery Dogs, returns with an arsenal of stand-out tracks from his new album, along with fan favorites from his 20 other solo efforts, including “You Can’t Save Me,” “Shine” and “Fooled Again.” Opening act is Artie Tobia. Make it a great night out with dinner and a show - visit Southwest Cafe (109 Danbury Road, Ridgefield) for dinner before the show and enjoy a complimentary margarita with your entree when you show your ticket.Media sponsor for this performance is I95, The Home of Rock n’ Roll.
Inspired by the band Kiss, Richie Kotzen picked up the guitar at the age of seven. He recorded his first solo album at 19 and was playing with the Glam-Rock band Poison by the time he was 21, replacing guitarist CC DeVille. He co-wrote and played on the Gold-certified Poison album, Native Tongue, which showcased his evolving shredding style. After a stint in Mr. Big in the late 90s, Kotzen recorded several successful solo albums before joining rock super group The Winery Dogs with Mike Portnoy and Billy Sheehan in 2013. In 2017 Kotzen released his 21st solo album, Salting Earth. The new album veers from the heads-up declaration of the opening track “End of Earth” to the burning-sky harmonic thrust of “Thunder” to the Prince-like funk-jazz swing of “This Is Life” to the acoustic take-me-as-I-am self-reflection of the album’s final song, “Grammy.” Don’t miss this extraordinary guitarist!