Saturday, June 15, 2013
Port City Music Hall, Portland, Maine
I had the pleasure of chatting with ZZ Ward a couple of weeks ago on the phone while she was in a laundromat. Life on the road isn’t always so glamorous. She was very kind and I was even more excited after our conversation to see her live. Ethan Minton, 98.9 WCLZ’s program director, saw my interview with ZZ online and invited me to come to her intimate performance before the night show with just a few lucky fans. 98.9 WCLZ is my favorite local radio station that plays the music I love the most, so I was happy to accept his kind invitation.
You can listen to ZZ’s whole Studio Z (Studio ZZ in this case!) performance here.
She played “Put the Gun Down” and “365 Days” for us. Her album, Til the Casket Drops, is great from start to finish and is clearly about a failed relationship. She told us that “365 Days” is about waiting for “way too long” for someone to change their ways. Ethan asked good questions and we learned about ZZ’s love for the blues that inspired her signature hats (including some she’s designing) and her brother’s hip hop musical influence. Ethan surprised her with her own ZZ Ward WCLZ water bottles (which are SO cool!), and she was really excited to see her name on them.
I met some great folks at Studio ZZ and got to say hi to ZZ in person and have this photo snapped, too:
Thanks, Ethan! Thanks, 98.9 WCLZ! Check out more pictures from Studio ZZ below!
xo,
bree