Hamed Kolahi was born in Tehran, Iran. He did his first Bachelor's in English Literature at Azad University of Karaj and his second Bachelor's in Music performance (Jazz concentration) at ETSU. He also holds the CELTA from Cambridge University. He was an ESL teacher for 12 years before coming to the U.S and completing his Bachelor's at ETSU. He started playing classical guitar in high school, and later became interested in flamenco music. He has been playing and teaching guitar since then. He came to the U.S to have a better understanding of the underlying theory and harmony in Jazz music and how to apply them in other music styles. He was a member of the ETSU Jazz Ensemble while he was studying there.