ZOEE

Grindhouse Nashville's "Midweek Grind"

Thursday July 28, 2022

@ Live Oak in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

Songwriter rounds are commonplace in Nashville. On any given night, you’re only a stone throw away from somewhere that you can find songwriter’s doing their thing; whether it’s hotspot music venues, hotel lounges, food halls, campgrounds, etc. You name it and you’ll most likely find a place that live music is being performed.

However, there are those more prominent fixtures to the songwriting scene that stand out a little taller.

Those attractive weekly showcases that consistently bring top-notch to talent to their stage.

Fixtures like Grindhouse Nashville’s ‘Midtown Grind’ at Live Oak.

Their rounds this summer have already included such songwriting talent as CJ Solar, Lance Carpenter, Haley Mae Campbell, Trey Lewis, Abby Anderson, Grace Tyler, and more! But underneath the hit songwriters who we already know and love, Grindhouse always expertly brings in some of the best emerging talent that Music City has to offer.

On this night, that spotlight shined brightly on Zoee!

The Australian born/new to Nashville resident had already started to carve out a niche over the past year on the back of songs such as “Take Me Away,” “Just A Little Bit Longer,” and “Nashville,” when she started working with famed singer-producer James House on the stellar new music that would define her exciting next chapter.

Sharing the stage with House and Jeff Cohen, both who bookended the round with performances of some of their biggest songwriting hits including “Ain’t That Lonely Yet,” “A Broken Wing,” and “Holy Water,” Zoee was in a pure comfort zone as she put on a display of all her signature feels, from her emotionally tilted vocals to lyrical masterpieces that quieted the room and pulled the crowd to the edge of their seats to lean in for a closer listen.

Opening with the toe-tapping “Miss Me,” a brand-new song that Zoee, Cohen, and House shared writing responsibilities on, the I’m leaving you to re-find myself breakup song earned a cheer of approval when it strode into its well-placed pause before the final chorus punched back in.

“I started this next one down under, and I brought it here to Nashville with me and we finished it up,” Zoee shared as she allowed “Castles In the Sand” and then “Runaway Train” to do the talking for her as her voice wrapped around the crowd and held them firmly in their seats as she commanded the attention of the otherwise noisy room with her lyrics and incredible vocal range.

“This last song I’m gonna do is my next single,” Zoee excitedly shared. “It comes out on August 12^th,” she plugged as she stunned the room with her incredible, “It Ain’t Love (If It Doesn’t Hurt),” clearly hitting on several different emotions of those in the crowd experiencing the pains of heartbreak. 

When you see as many artists and songwriters as we are blessed to see, you start to notice different little nuances beyond only the great music and performances that make someone stand out more than others in a crowded music scene.

Digging into that side of things with watching Zoee on stage beyond only her performance, you could literally see the joy and her take nothing for granted attitude radiating through her smile as she was fully invested in supporting the amazing talent on either side of her, singing along with them and cheering for each song when the final notes were strummed - the truest definition of what it means to have class! 

FULL SET LIST

1) Miss Me

2) Castles in the Sand

3) Runaway Train

4) It Ain’t Love (If It Doesn’t Hurt)

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