PUEBLO, Colo. — Here at News5, it’s our job to tell the stories that keep Colorado culture alive.
One such story is that of rising star Cody Cozz, a Pueblo West High School grad turned CSU Pueblo student turned Nashville-based country star.
According to Cozz, his musical success can be traced back to his childhood love of singing; although, he pinpoints his junior year of high school as the point when he started to get serious about music.
He would soon go on to book his first gig after posting a Facebook video of him performing.
Cozz credited social media for its ability to share his music—most recently his new song, “Where I’ve Been Lately”-- with people all across Colorado.
When asked about the motivation behind his newest song, Cozz expressed that he wanted to really pay homage to his hometown of Pueblo and share Colorado’s western roots with the rest of the world.
Despite moving to Nashville a couple of years ago, this Pueblo native remarked that he still misses home.
Cozz said that leaving Colorado and playing shows across the country made him realize just how much of a gem the city of Pueblo is, despite its bad reputation.
When asked what he missed most about home, Cozz replied that he missed how tightly knit the Pueblo community is.
"It’s just a tight-knit community. Everybody supports each other, whether that’s sports, the arts, anything, you name it. You know- They all come together for the right reasons and that’s solely the reason I’ve succeeded in music in general. It’s just because the community has come and supported me so much,” said Cozz.
When Cozz originally received the offer to come back to Pueblo to play for the State Fair, he said he was so shocked and full of joy that he said yes with no hesitation.
When asked how he felt getting to play on the same stage that he grew up watching artists play on, he expressed that this was a full-circle moment for him.
Tonight, Cozz will not only be able to share the stage with a living, breathing country music legend, but he’ll also be playing in the same event center as the first concert he had ever seen.
“So the fact that I get to kinda stand on the stage where it really all started for me, is just a surreal moment and I wouldn’t want to share it with anywhere else,” said Cozz
The show tonight is certain to entertain as Cozz will be playing an almost completely original set. According to him, it was important to him that he was able to play his own music at this event.
In preparation for the show, News5 asked him what he does to get his head in the game before a performance.
“The first one that I do is I always eat potato chips before I play. It just kinda helps open up your throat and give you some [saliva] I guess. And then the second thing is I like to soundcheck in the bathroom of the green rooms because of the acoustics. And I don’t know, it just locks me in. It makes me feel centered and if I don’t have the ability to do that, I feel I don’t play as good,” said Cozz.
While being able to play the state fair and dropping his newest song has put him in an ideal place in his career, Cozz dreams of getting to perform at the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater one day.
When asked why that would be so special to him, he responded that it would just be an unbelievable moment for him as a an artist that was born and raised in Colorado.
Fans will be able to catch Cozz tonight at his set at the Colorado State Fair or maybe even at of of the food trucks selling turkey legs.
According to Cozz, he could easily go through two or three of those turkey legs every time he goes to the fair.
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