Severna Park Musician Finds Success In Local Music Scene

Once he picked up a guitar at 12 years old, Charles Kavoossi considered himself a musician. He formed his first band, Think, while attending Archbishop Spalding High School and played at numerous local venues in the early 2000s. His passion took him from coast to coast before he returned to Anne Arundel County and settled in Arnold and Severna Park. Today his band, known simply as Kavoossi, is a mainstay in the music scene from Baltimore to Washington, D.C., playing several shows a week in and around Annapolis.

Kavoossi’s music career began to take a more permanent shape in 2013 when he met Aaron Yealdhall, known as Skribe, a well-known Annapolis garage-folk artist who, for the last 15 years, has curated and hosted the monthly Backroom Sessions at 49 West Coffeehouse.

Yealdhall shared that to be successful, Kavoossi had to make the jump to full-time musician. Kavoossi, who at the time was also a successful chef, stepped away from his culinary career, quit working retail jobs to make ends meet, and started easing into the music industry full-time. By 2015 he was a well-known solo artist who would fill in for other musicians or bands who couldn’t make their own gigs. Those connections proved invaluable as venues saw his rapport with audiences and started to book him directly.

During this time, Kavoossi reconnected with an old friend, Aaron Wold, a re-recording engineer and sound designer who worked at Mobtown Studios in Baltimore. Wold was interested in putting together an EP and asked Kavoossi to help out as singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboard musician. The EP ended up being a full-length 12-song album called “Repent to Karma,” which was released in 2016 and was the first album to come out under his last name, Kavoossi.

More inspired than ever, Kavoossi started putting together a band, which is now a trio, including Jeff Thompson and Jay D’Annunzio. Their band is heavily influenced by late ‘90s and early 2000s sound, which Kavoossi describes as melodic pop-rock alternative.

In 2017, Kavoossi joined Joey Harkum on tour and continues to play with him today. In addition to living his dream as a full-time musician and songwriter, Kavoossi also enjoys working in sound design, photography and videography creation and editing.

“After a lot of national touring, I came to realize and appreciate just how closely connected the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County area arts scene is, especially for music,” Kavoossi said. “People not from Annapolis would pass through and remark, ‘What is going on here in Annapolis? There is something special going on here.’”

As an artist, he appreciates the supportive, non-competitive nature of other musicians, and how residents highly regard art, whether that is in music, theater, fine arts or filmmaking.

“We live in an art culture-rich town, and that I am thankful to be a part of,” he said.

After years of touring and traveling, Kavoossi encourages young artists to define success based on what makes them happy, not by what anyone else believes is success.

“At some point I realized that industry success wasn’t what success meant to me,” Kavoossi said. “When I was younger, I never really decided on my own whether I thought ‘industry success’ was the same as musician success for myself.” A definition of success could include worldwide fame, wealth or Grammy nominations.

But for Kavoossi? “I don’t think I want any of that,” he said.

Today he’s happy playing with his band, making music and records, supporting other artists through his technical expertise and being recognized on the streets of Annapolis, but mostly he revels in the peace that comes with understanding what is truly important to him as a musician and a person. He loves being part of the community and warming up his culinary passion by cooking for his close family.

“There is an entire world in the music industry where you can make a good living,” Kavoossi said. “Keep working on and fine-tuning your craft. There are so many opportunities for young musicians in this industry where you don’t have to be famous to have a rewarding career. Walking around with an ego is the worst thing you can do.”

Kavoossi regularly performs locally at places including The Point Crab House & Grill and O’Loughlin’s Restaurant. For an upcoming schedule of events, visit www.kavoossi.com.