Jake Kulak

Jake Kulak Award-winning musician and guitar phenom, Jake Kulak has been performing professionally in front of audiences since the age of 12. Thrilling audiences from Norway to Boston, from Sydney to NYC, and down to the Mississippi Delta, Jake is inspired by the authenticity and raw emotion of the blues. Jake's signature guitar-driven sound highlights his impressive improvisational and vocal abilities. Combining nostalgia and reinvention, Jake Kulak and his 4-piece band The Modern Vandals merge the tradition of the blues and the energy of the early aughts with sleek production and cutting guitar-based arrangements. Hailing from Hartford County, CT, Jake Kulak & The Modern Vandals explore the complexity of human connection through honest and introspective lyrics. Jake has spent five summers playing in the home of the Blues - Clarksdale, Mississippi. Jake was voted Best Blues Band or Singer by the Hartford Courant’s CTNOW Reader’s Poll. He was also nominated for a New England Music Award for “Best New Act of the Year”. He and his band won the Foxwoods Resort Casino’s prestigious “Battle of the Bands” and took home the $10,000 Grand Prize award. His original indie rock songs “Better”, "Caution Tape" and "Circles" have all been chosen as semi-finalists in the International Songwriting Competition, the “competition to take note of”, according to the New York Times. The band has also performed at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. Jake’s debut album “Get Faded and Go” was recognized in The Hartford Courant’s “Best Albums by CT Musicians”. Jake graduated cum laude from Berklee College of Music in 2022. Visit performer's website Cosmos Sunshine Trio Cosmos Sunshine is a Connecticut born and NYC raised singer songwriter, guitarist and producer. His career took off in the 1990s when he befriended Warren Haynes, who became his producer and mentor. Since that time he has toured nationally and internationally, sharing bills and stages with the likes of Gov’t Mule, Lenny Kravitz, King Crimson, Blues Traveler, Johnny Winter, Spin Doctors, Derek Trucks and many more. As recently as March 2023 he shared the stage with Otiel Burbridge, Steve Kimock, Wally Ingram and others as part of the Go Big for Hunger Allstars in Portland, ME. A prolific writer and producer, his albums and singles have featured contributions from the likes of Warren Haynes, John Popper (Blues Traveler), Aaron Comess (Spin Doctors), Peter Levin (Gregg Allman Band/Blind Boys of Alabama), Dave Dreiwitz (Ween/JRAD) and Andy Hess (Gov’t Mule/John Scofield) to name a few. In 2021 he formed the Cosmos Sunshine Trio with the Brooklyn based rhythm section of Garth MacAleavey and Brian Murphey. Since that time they have been burning up club and festival stages throughout the Northeast. With his current home base of Winsted, CT where he has built his new recording studio, Pond Meadow Hall, Cosmos continues to build upon his already impressive legacy.