Name of the Band/Act: Chris Kraft
When did Band/Act form: 2000
Members: Chris Kraft
About the artist: Chris Kraft started playing guitar at the age of 15 and a year later was already writing songs. One of those songs, “Picture In A Box,” attracted interest from the television show Weeds and was used in one of the episodes. Kraft kept working on his performance and songwriting and entered talent shows while in high school.
The singer/songwriter has since been working on his original material and traveled to Nashville to perform at such legendary clubs as Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, The Listening Room, The Bluebird Cafe and many others. He also took time out of his touring schedule to record many of his self-penned tunes while in Music City.
As a solo performer he has only his voice and his guitar to rely upon, but that has worked out well for the Alliance, Ohio based Kraft. His strong following of fans and supporters helped get him nominated to be considered for an opening slot for Joe Nichols. He eventually was chosen by Nichols management and opened the show at the Goodyear Theater in Akron in May.
In addition to the opening for Nichols, he has opened shows for everyone from Eric Church and Uncle Kracker to Everlast and Rehab. His eclectic style of country music comes from Kraft’s desire to make his music something for people to get lost in. Kraft explains it this way, “I just enjoy writing music that people can relate to and want to crank up in the car with the windows down and forget about life for a while.”
After opening for so many national acts, Kraft will headline his own acoustic show at the Dusty Armadillo in Rootstown on Saturday, August 19.
Why you should see his show: Though Kraft is a self proclaimed 90’s country fan, his shows can contain anything from covers of Johnny Cash to Bone Thugs N Harmony. His performances definitely have a party attitude and Kraft enjoys interacting with the crowd and loves to take requests, which just makes his show that much more enjoyable for the crowd. His style of original music mixed with his variety of covers leads to sing-a-longs and everyone having a good time. His goal is for people to come to his show and to enjoy themselves so much that they will talk about it for weeks after, and to get a few of his originals stuck in their head, too.
Websites/Socials/Videos: You can follow Chris Kraft on his Facebook page Here, or Instagram Here, or Twitter Here.
Upcoming Dates: Friday, July 21 at Canal Park in Akron (6pm) and Saturday, August 19 at Dusty Armadillo in Rootstown.
