Mark Kozelek at the Festival Theatre in Budapest

About the Event

Performing for the first time at the Festival Theatre in Hungary is Mark Kozelek, one of the most important singer‐songwriters and guitarists of the past quarter century.

He was the front man for Red House Painters, a 90s American alternative rock band, and has performed under his own name and with his project Sun Kil Moon since the millennium.
Kozelek was born in 1967 in Massillon, Ohio, and founded Red House Painters in San Francisco. The band's slow, melancholy storytelling songs — representing a range of diverse styles from slowcore to folk music to the guitar rock sound of Neil Young — formed the basis for six LPs released in the 1990s. In the 21st century, Kozelek expanded his discography with another 20 studio albums, sometimes performing solo under his own name, playing with the changing line‐up of his Sun Kil Moon project, or working with other artists.
Kozelek, admired by indie folk artists like Bon Iver, José González and others, reached his artistic peak with the Sun Kil Moon LP Benji, recorded with Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth. An exploration of the stories of his family members, friends and lovers, the album is also a dissection of the songwriter's psyche and became a favourite on 'best albums of 2014' lists.
His songs have also found favour with film directors, and he was even invited to act in several films: he played roles as a rocker in Steve Martin's production Shopgirl and Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, and also landed a role in the 2015 Paolo Sorrentino film Youth after appearing alongside Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky.
The singer's sullen exterior conceals a particular dry humour, and he is a stunningly charismatic performer even with just an acoustic guitar — something the Budapest audience will get to experience at this special solo performance.