the band kicked off their 2014 north american winter tour on january 15 at belly up in aspen, colorado, where lead guitarist jesse triplett made his live debut as a member of collective soul. triplett replaced joel kosche, who had been with the band since replacing original lead guitarist ross childress in 2001. on february 6, collective soul publicly confirmed kosche's departure from the band: "after 13 great years, joel kosche has moved on in the world of music. collective soul welcomes jesse triplett as our new lead guitarist.