ZZ Ward recently visited 9:30 Club for a show on her One Hell of a Night Tour with opener Jaime Wyatt! Steve Satzberg was there to photograph the show.

This copy is adapted from a press release.

An edgy, blues-inspired artist who infuses the genre with hip-hop, pop, R&B, neo-soul, and rock, ZZ started singing the blues at the age of 8, inspired by her father’s record collection. At 16, seeing the similarities between blues and hip-hop, she ventured out to the clubs in her hometown of Eugene, Oregon, and began singing and performing with acts around town. She busked, booked her own tours, and sold demos in parking lots, sleeping on an air mattress in her brother’s place and hustling for shows. It wasn’t long before she became a buzzed-about artist, earning a record deal with Hollywood Records. She quickly broke into Billboard’s Top 40 with her debut release, and her sophomore album, The Storm, peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues chart, highlighted by singles featuring GRAMMY-Award winners Fantastic Negrito and Gary Clark Jr.

On Sept. 8, ZZ Ward performed at 9:30 Club on the same day she released her third full-length album, Dirty Shine. With her new record, she embraces life as a new mother and taking full control of her work from both a business and creative perspective.

Watch the official music video for “On One” by ZZ Ward on YouTube:

Now, ZZ is welcoming a creative and career rebirth as an independent artist. Her new album Dirty Shine is spilling over with bold electronic textures, rugged hip-hop beats, acoustic Delta blues riffs, and sensual R&B vocals. She’s also a label owner, video director, and even a hat maker now, personally handcrafting signature fedoras in her kitchen, creating a direct connection with her fans who can purchase them through her website.

Without the constraints of a label budget, her brother Adam is helping bring ZZ’s high-concept, action-packed cinematic fantasies to life through ambitious mini-movies for her songs. Removing the influence of big corporations has brought ZZ closer to her fan community, engaging with them directly every morning. Her husband, GRAMMY-winning songwriter Evan Kidd Bogart, is serving as her label partner and manager, and with the recent addition of their firstborn, this time of creativity and personal growth is especially meaningful.

Country singer-songwriter Jaime Wyatt opened the show!

Here are some photos of Jaime Wyatt performing at 9:30 Club on Sept. 8, 2023.

And here are some photos of ZZ Ward performing at 9:30 Club on Sept. 8, 2023.