“I’ve been wanting to do Liberation for so long. I knew I wanted to move further into the blues… The music that really got me started was the blues,” says ZZ Ward, referring to her forthcoming fourth studio album, Liberation, which drops this Friday, March 14th, courtesy of the recently relaunched Sun Records, who released Ward’s Mother EP last October. And this Sunday, March 16th, ZZ Ward will play her most intimate local show in more than a decade at our very own City Winery as part of The Dirty Sun Tour.
“When the idea came up of Sun wanting to put out this album, I was really intrigued,” Ward tells me during a January phone chat, going on to reference the work they did with Elvis, Howlin’ Wolf, and Johnny Cash: “Those artists are so incredible and the real deal… To be thought of as the new face of the legendary label is so gratifying.” She also admits to being intrigued that the current artists relaunching the label are primarily female, which includes Amy Helm, Ruthie Foster, and Shawna Thompson.
The last time I spoke with ZZ Ward was in August of 2023, prior to that September’s release of LP #3, Dirty Shine, her first independently released full-length, dropping via her own Dirty Shine Records after having spent a decade on Hollywood, a major label that she felt was pushing her away from her blues roots. During that chat, ZZ mentioned that she was already working on a follow-up album, but when I ask how Liberation compares to Dirty Shine, she tells me, “It’s totally different… Dirty Shine was a collection of songs that I liked that I was ready to release… but Liberation is a totally different approach for me.”
Both Mother and Liberation were produced by Ryan Spraker (known for his work with Eli “Paperboy” Reed, in addition to PHILTHY phavorites K. Flay and Bleached, among others), who co-wrote Dirty Shine’s “Friends Like These” with ZZ and quickly formed a musical connection. “He was just like wanking around on guitar and you could tell he could really play… I was like, ‘I’m interested in doing a blues record,’” Ward tells me, going on to say, “He has such a vast knowledge of the blues and soul music… He really helped me create a sound.”
We last saw ZZ Ward in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection in September of 2023, when World Café Live hosted opening night of the One Hell of A Night Tour, but she’s done quite a bit of touring since then, including a slot on Slash’s S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival Tour last summer, which featured our buddy Samantha Fish, alongside Warren Haynes Band, Keb’ Mo’, Larkin Poe, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Robert Randolph, Eric Gales, and Jackie Venson, which Ward tells me was an amazing experience.
“It was really awesome. It was really cool to be part of a tour with so many legendary artists, especially blues artists… I grew up playing the blues! I grew up singing in my dad’s blues cover band, and these artists are people I grew up listening to!”
During our 2023 chat, ZZ mentioned taking her son out of school and bringing him along on the bus for the One Hell of A Night Tour, and during our most recent chat she tells me that’s something that’s continued throughout subsequent jaunts… even with the addition of a new kid. “It’s wild! I have one who’s almost four and one who’s almost one… I work my ass off, and I want my kids to see that,” she says, also noting that it must be nice for them as well: “If it were me, I’d be stoked to get out of school, hop on a plane, and just go! Slash told me at one point his kids stopped wanting to tour with him, so I’m just doing this while I can… getting ready for that [laughs].”
In addition to the sounds of Liberation, ZZ tells me that the performances accompanying the new album will be something very different from what Philadelphia phans saw the last time around. “My live show, between Dirty Shine and now, has changed a lot. I’ve stripped things down a lot, in a good way. I mean, when you go out and hear these blues artists, they don’t have synthesizers,” she says, going on to tell me, “It’s a three- or four-person band: my guitarist, bass player, drummer, and me. I’m playing harmonica and singing and playing guitar.”
Ward also admits to appreciating the fact that a lot of the venues are listening rooms: “For this album, I think it makes sense to play some seated rooms… To be honest, as a concertgoer, I’d rather go to a seated venue, rather than being shoulder to shoulder, fighting for space.” However, she says that that certainly won’t affect the energy of the night: “It’ll be electric whether it’s seated or standing… I’ve noticed when I play that we turn a room. I ask for a lot of engagement of my audience.” And, once again, ZZ Ward will be bringing her family along for The Dirty Sun Tour, which she tells me she totally loves, while also admitting that it can sometimes make things complicated.
“On the positive side, my family’s out there with me… Before I got my dog, Muddy Waters, I was really, really lonely out on tour sometimes. Like, my band would be out partying, and I’d just be alone in my room… But on the con side, like my song [“Mother”], being a mother is 24/7. When I’m not onstage performing, or doing soundcheck, or press, I’m not like chilling… I’m momming [laughs], making meals, changing diapers…”
*Get your tickets here.
