The highest energy set of Coachella weekend two, day one likely belonged to ZZ Ward, the Jewish R&B sensation that has quickly climbed the ladder with a number of hook-driven jams that put Ward’s charisma at the forefront.
Friday’s performance in the Mojave tent was probably the funkiest of the entire day. Ward engaged her audience with some quirky banter. “It’s two o’clock in the afternoon and I don’t give a f*ck!” said Ward as she launched into one of her many danceable hits. “365 Days” was the set’s high mark, with the capacity tent chanting “The summer’s o-o-ver, over, over” along with Ward. The lone odd ball moment was Ward’s ballad “Last Love Song”. It’s a well-written song but just didn’t gel with the rest of the upbeat tunes that were meant to kick off a lot of people’s Coachella weekends on a high note. Ward’s cover of Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home” had the crowd moving as her blues-driven take on the hit caught people off guard in a good way with some amazing harmonica work from Ward.
With a fantastic Coachella in her rear-view, Ward has shown great potential early in 2014 and is likely already done headlining smaller room gigs as the buildings are becoming too small to contain her energy.
Words: Mark E. Ortega
Check out more photos of ZZ Ward at Coachella 2014 via Zimbio.
