By Julie Ann Shaw
I had been waiting years to see ZZ Ward live, and it absolutely was worth the wait. People were lining up to get into the venue hours before the doors even opened, so I knew I was in good company. The opener for the night was a beautiful young lady with a gorgeous raspy voice and a friend on the guitar, Lanie Gardner. When Gardner first started playing, the audience continued their conversations at full volume, almost drawing out Gardner’s soulful set. However, by the time she got to her cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dream” from their timeless 1977 album, Rumours, the audience not only stopped all personal conversations, but everyone was singing along with her. She had won over the entire room very quickly and most likely earned herself a lot of new fans.
After a 30 minute set change, ZZ Ward glided onto the stage with a beautiful and indescribable grace. The first two songs she opened with were from her newest album, Dirty Shine, “Forget About Us,” and “Baby Don’t.” Ward then picked up her guitar for Til The Casket Drops’ “Put The Gun Down,” and “Til The Casket Drops.”
By this time the crowd was already immersed in the bluesy, indie rock pop artist’s mesmerizing voice and singing along like there was no tomorrow. The floor was covered in various alcoholic beverages and people were packed shoulder to shoulder but still managed to dance like the world was ending. Ward followed with “Giant,” and “Ride,” Ward’s duet with Gary Clark Jr. from her 2017 album, The Storm, and featured on Disney/ Pixar’s Cars 3 soundtrack. Next Ward performed “Break Her Heart,” “Sex & Stardust,” “Tin Cups,” “Last Love Song,” “Bag Of Bones,” and her classic, “Charlie Ain’t Home.”
For the next couple of songs, Ward paid homage to her blues heroes. First, she performed a moving cover of Son House’s “Grinning In Your Face.” Then, Ward performed a gorgeous cover of Elmore James’ “Dust My Broom.” Lastly, Ward gifted us with a heart stopping cover of Lowell Fulson’s “Three O’Clock Blues.”
After her beautiful tributes, Ward finished off her set with her own songs “Lil’ Darlin,” “The Dark,” “365 Days,” “ If I Could Be Her,” and lastly, “Move Like U Stole It,” from Til The Casket Drops. Obviously, that was not the end of the night. Of course there were encores. The first encore was “OverdoZZe” from her new album, Dirty Shine. Ward’s second encore, and very last song of the night was “Blue Eyes Blind” which made the audience ecstatic.
You can find ZZ Ward online at: https://www.zzward.com/
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