Playing to a crowd of all ages Oct. 6 at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit, singer-songwriter and musician ZZ Ward highlighted some of her greatest hits to a crowd of excited fans.
Zsuzsanna Eva Ward, better known to her cheering fans as the feisty and unique singer ZZ Ward, has a musical style to make her one of a kind name. Ward joined her first band at the age of 12 alongside her father after moving to Roseburg, Ore. which sparked a love story between the artist and music. She was signed to E. Kidd Bogart’s Boardwalk Entertainment label just after moving to Los Angeles in 2009.
The concert Sunday night for the “Down and Dirty Shine Tour” featured several songs off her debut album, “Til the Casket Drops” which hit stores on Oct. 16, 2012. The debut song of her professional career was “Criminal” featuring Freddie Gibbs. Ward also began work on a mixtape in which she offered her remakes of tracks from such artists as Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino and Tyler, the Creator.
Fans of ZZ Ward traveled from across Michigan for the show, like Amy McConnell from Ypsilanti. McConnell stated, “I like her sassy sound and her jazzy sounds.”
McConnell was accompanied by friend Sarah Faitel who said, “I like her lyrics and the instruments.”
Relatively new to the music scene, ZZ has already seen her share of the limelight with guest appearances on such shows like the VH1 Big Morning Buzz Live with Carrie Keagan where she played her first single “Put the Gun Down.” In addition, Ward has been featured as a musical guest on shows like “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Good Morning America” and “Conan.” Fans can also find her song “Til the Casket Drops” as the music featured for the third season of the ABC Family television show “Pretty Little Liars.”
The concert was also covered by the radio station 93.9 The River as ZZ performed such hits as “Put the Gun Down” and “Last Love Song.”
Her mix of down-to-earth lyrics, bluesy feel and wide array of instruments makes it difficult to place a label on the style of music this unique artist performs. Ward left Detroit fans cheering and obliged them with an encore performance of “Blue Eyes Blind” before sincerely bidding her fans adieu.
Anyone wishing to get a taste of ZZ Ward’s style can find much of her music on YouTube and the full album is available on iTimes.
“The Down and Dirty Tour” has several more shows before concluding in Chicago on Oct. 15.
For more information on future shows visit zzward.com.