It was in the Santa Cruz Mountains that Denys Kozakis developed his sound and songs before joining bassist Jon Payne, and vocalist Natosha Wengreen, to form The Painted Horses. After releasing their debut album, Ponderosa Pines (2015), The Painted Horses set out to roam the hills of California and the Pacific Northwest. With their thoughtful and beautifully written songs, they won over audiences wherever they played.

After a few years of performing live, The Painted Horses (now Kozakis and Payne) decided to return their focus to recording. Their sophomore album will be self-titled and was recorded and produced by Marc Daniel Nelson and Ken Caillat(who produced many notable albums including the legendary “Rumors” by Fleetwood Mac) at Prairie Sun in Cotati, CA. Mastered at The Bakery in Los Angeles, CA by Eric Boulanger, this album adds a rock-n-roll element to the Americana and folk stylings of the debut LP. This album features many amazing musicians and friends including long time drummer Jeff Wilson, Lorenzo Loera on keys, Dan Talamantes, McCoy Tyler and Deren Ney on guitars, Jason Crosby on violin, Pat Hull, Dorota Szuta and Leigh Jones on backup vocals.

With this new album, The Painted Horses can now further their impressive resume including a debut album/song feature on CMT’s “The Edge”. In addition to playing multiple music festivals in California including American River Music Festival, Redgate Ranch Music Festival, and DIO Fest, the band had the pleasure of playing renowned music venues such as Slims (SF), The Chapel (SF), Lagunitas Brewing Company (Petaluma), Sweetwater Music Hall (Mill Valley), Leos (Oakland), Kuumbwa Jazz Center (SC), Moe’s Alley (SC), and several shows in the Fillmore Poster Room (SF). They played with bands such as Poor Mans Whiskey, Jamestown Revival, The Brothers Comatose, Pert Near Sandstone, Kate Davis, Honey Honey, The Wild Reeds, Hey Rosetta, and many more.