With her powerhouse voice and high-wattage charisma, ZZ Ward is the type of artist one might call “a force of nature” (as The Village Voice has). After the release of ZZ’s 2012 debut album TilThe Casket Drops, The New York Times said of the Los Angeles-based artist: “Her energy evokes Tina Turner’s, her chops Aretha Franklin’s, and her soul Etta James’.” All-Music remarked that the album, with its unique blend of blues, rock, hip-hop, R&B, and neo-soul, “should make her a star if there's any justice in the world,” adding that ZZ “has a wonderfully flexible voice, she can croon like a pop singer, growl like a blues woman, spit attitude like a rocker, and flow like a rapper.”
And it’s not just critics who are swooning. Over the past few years, ZZ has built a passionate fanbase, selling over 150K albums and 500K tracks to date and establishing herself as an international touring draw. She has played over 350 live shows, including major festivals Coachella, Bonnaroo, Firefly, Sasquatch and Jay-Z’s Made In America, and embarked on four headlining tours including her Love and War Tour last fall.
ZZ’s time on the road had a big influence on the sound of her Love and War EP as well as her upcoming second album for Hollywood Records. “I learned a lot from playing live,” she says. “I learned about what makes people move, what makes people react and what doesn't, and what hits people emotionally. I am taking all of that experience and incorporating it into mynext album.”
The Pennsylvania-born, Oregon-raised, now LA-based singer and multi-instrumentalist got her start at age 12 performing in her father’s blues band. “One of the things my dad taught me growing up was to sing the story,” she says. “To really sing it from your heart and soul and mean what you're singing about. That has stuck with me my whole life.” At 16, already a fan of Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton, The Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin, Ward was introduced to hip-hop via her older brother’s CD collection and got hooked. She eventually worked her way into performing with local artists at hip-hop clubs in Eugene. At 23, she moved to Los Angeles and began booking her own shows on the singer-songwriter circuit. Within three months, songwriter-producer Evan “Kidd” Bogart sent her a message via MySpace, and she signed with his Boardwalk Entertainment Group, followed by Hollywood Records.
With the Love and War EP released and the second album on its way, ZZ is most excited about being back on the road. “As an artist, I’ve grown so much since the release of TilThe Casket Drops, musically, emotionally and stylistically. I love powerful images, whether in the form of songs or in my personal style and that’s been fun to explore and experiment with,” notes ZZ. “I put a lot of thought into every aspect of the live show, musically and visually, and I plan to blow people away!”
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