ZZ Ward @ Vintage Vinyl, St. Louis, MO

Word and pictures by Duane Clawson

If there was to be an American version of Adele, I would surely nominate Ms. Ward as a worthy challenger.  ZZ, please don’t be upset with the Adele comparison.  Take it as a good thing.  With vocal abilities that fall somewhere between KT Tunstall and Joss Stone, ZZ’s raspy edge brings a slightly unrefined soul to her to her songs.  ZZ was gracious enough to play a five-song tune-up set at Vintage Vinyl on the Sunday night before her scheduled Monday performance at the Firebird.  Ms. Ward was backed by a stripped down band consisting of a guitarist/bass player and drummer.  From what I've heard and the press I've read, it won’t be long before this young lady will be inaccessible.  I felt very privileged to have caught this short set.  ZZ performed songs from her only full length album, Til the Casket Drops, which was released in October to stellar reviews.  It was a pleasure to see an artist treat an in-store performance as it was a much larger venue.  Although her time was limited, ZZ took the time to explain her songs and encourage audience participation out of the thirty or so fans that caught her short set.  So go check her out via your favorite streaming service or music outlet.  You will thank me later.  Thanks to Vintage Vinyl for bringing these shows to town and ZZ Ward & Co. for the music.  Pictures of the show are below:

Contributed by Duane Clawson