You may not have heard of Zandi Holup, but she’s about to become a bright new star in the world of country.
Originally from Pennsylvania, she broke through with her song ‘Wait For You’ via TikTok which has already amassed over a million streams on Spotify, and has been named an Artist To Watch by The Nashville Briefing. She signed a record deal with Big Loud Records last year and has also opened for the likes of Steve Earle and Amanda Shires before making her UK debut at C2C last month, where she wowed with powerful honest lyrics and heartfelt delicate vocals.
Whilst she was here, I spoke to Zandi about her debut single ‘Gas Station Flowers’, her experience of UK crowds, how she approaches her songwriting, what’s coming up for her this year and more.
Welcome to London!
Thank you. I love it here.
How have you found the trip so far?
I’ve found the trip incredible so far. I will say this is my first time with a significant time change, so the jet lag at first, I used to think people were kidding. But it’s not a joke. It is very terrible. But I am better now, to a degree [laughs].
Have you had any time to explore or try any British food whilst you’re here or anything like that?
Yeah, no, I’ve definitely done some exploring. I was the most typical tourist ever. I took the double decker bus, because I had to be that girl, you know? I saw Big Ben, but they actually told me that I didn’t see Big Ben. They said that I saw the Elizabeth Tower because technically you don’t see Big Ben because it’s inside the Elizabeth Tower. I learned that. I also saw Westminster Abbey, I saw the Tower of London. I just did a really typical tour where you could just kind of see an overview of the history of the city. So that was awesome. And then, yeah, I’ve been exploring all of the food. What have I been eating that’s crazy? I don’t know. I’ve just kind of been eating whatever is in front of me [laughs].
For people who may not have heard your songs before, how would you describe your music and your influences?
I would describe my music as singer-songwriter, somewhere between folk, country, alternative, Americana. I think at the end of the day music is music and I’m a songwriter, that’s kind of how I describe myself. My influences, especially for this record that’s going to be coming out, I listened a lot to Joni Mitchell, I listened to Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, John Prine, Townes Van Zandt. I just really was listening to incredible lyricists. Lyrics are my thing. I love a good lyric. That is kind of what I live for. So yeah, that is kind of what inspired all these songs.
I’ve also read that you’ve previously described yourself as a ‘sad hippie cowgirl’ – can you tell us a bit more about that?
Well I could honestly add so many other things to that sentence. I feel like I have many facets of my personality. Obviously I have happiness but of course I’m an artist so I have perpetual darkness in me [chuckles]. That’s just kind of how it is. And then I’m a hippie because I’m a free spirit, man. I wanna love, I wanna spread light and love, that’s what I wanna do. I also just wanna explore the world, I don’t wanna be tied down to anything. I think that’s just kind of the artist’s lifestyle. And cowgirl, I don’t know, I just feel like cowgirls are just strong women. Not saying that I’m actually a cowgirl, but I love the sentiment of it. I love the energy and the spirit of all that.
I think everyone’s a cowgirl deep down…
Everyone’s a cowgirl at heart. I’ve gotta write that song, ‘Cowgirl At Heart’. That’s my next one! [laughs]
Are there any songs you’ve been enjoying playing live and that you’ve found the crowds really engaging with whilst you’re here?
You know, that’s the cool thing about playing live. You get to get another perspective on your songs and what people are really enjoying. And one of my songs that I think people have been enjoying a lot since I arrived is called ‘Dirty Wings’. I’ve noticed a lot of people seem to really connect with that song. It’s kind of a rebirthing, resurrection type of song where you’re kind of talking about how you’re ashamed of parts of your past, but you’re asking for someone to kind of just love you right where you’re at and for the new person that you have become despite your history. And another song I’ve noticed a lot of people gravitate to is called ‘Mary Jane’, and it’s a song that I wrote that tells a story of drug addiction and it’s kind of an arc of how it starts, how it climaxes and then how a person gets to sobriety.
I also wanted to ask you about ‘Gas Station Flowers’ which is your debut single in the US, and I know you’ve just made a video for that as well – what can you tell us about that?
Yes. So ‘Gas Station Flowers’, it was so interesting how it came about. I really didn’t know that that was going to be my debut single. Honestly the people that listen to my music were the ones who dictated it. Basically what ended up happening is the song ended up getting a lot of people that were really connecting to it on TikTok. There was a large amount of people that were making videos using the sound – really emotional, beautiful videos. And so I realised that everybody really wanted that song, the people kind of spoke to me saying that’s what they wanted.
So that’s why I recorded that song and that’s why it’s my debut single. And I have made a video for that song. I like to say it’s very like the song on crack, because it’s everything that you would feel with the song but there’s now a visual component, that I would hope is going to amplify the emotion. For me whenever I write songs the goal is to just basically execute emotions. So to me the visual component of the video is a way to amplify that entire experience.
I also wanted to ask you a bit about your songwriting. Do you have a typical way you approach your writing and does it differ when you write for yourself compared to someone else?
It really differs. When I wrote for Kylie Morgan, I was just trying to think of an idea that she would resonate with. And I had that thought, “if he wanted to he would”, and I just felt like it was something that she would say. She’s a strong woman so I thought that would be a good idea for her. But when I write for myself, it really depends on the day. When I’m alone sometimes it’s just a cool guitar part or a cool melody. Sometimes it’s a lyrical hook. Or sometimes it’s just a feeling and I just begin outpouring my thoughts onto the page and kind of see where it goes. But then when I write with other people, usually co-writing sessions, I will come in with a developed idea or a developed hook.
You’ve got to open for some legends like Steve Earle and Ann Wilson and I know you’ve been out on tour as well. What have you learned from those experiences that you’ve put into your own shows?
Oh my gosh. Well, I’ve learned so much. I think opening up for Steve Earle was an incredible experience, just because he was solo acoustic and so was I. So I was able to really watch every night how he did a solo acoustic show. I think playing solo acoustic is an art within and of itself, because you really have to bring the audience in with just you, the guitar and the song. And I think that you just honestly have to really know what you’re doing. When you’re playing solo acoustic you have to have the parts worked out, you have to kind of make your own dynamics so that you almost are the band. So that’s something I learned from Steve Earle, watching him.
Also I think just bringing the crowd in and telling people your story, sometimes just talking before the song. Steve always tells incredible stories and I also just love how open and honest he is as a person in his writing. So it was just inspiring to say the least, to open up for someone like that.
What’s still on the bucket list for you in terms of places you’d want to play or people you’d want to work with and so on?
Oh, so many. Places I wanna play – Red Rocks is definitely a huge goal. I mean I think every artist wants to play Red Rocks. It’s just an incredible venue. People I wanna work with, that list is endless, but for starters I love Dolly. I love Stevie Nicks. Those are some of my all time favourite women that I would love to collaborate with. Big goals, big dreams! [laughs]
Well you never know, put it out in the universe and see what happens…
Amen. Gotta manifest it [laughs].
What song do you wish you could have written?
Hmmm, song I wish I could have written. Gosh. Such a difficult one. Hmmm. I mean there’s so many, gosh, trying to pick one is so difficult. Maybe… I love ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright’ by Bob Dylan. If I wrote that…
What’s the rest of the year looking like for you? I know you’ve got tour dates coming up and you’ve mentioned you’re working on new music – is that the focus for the rest of the year?
Yeah, so currently I am in the studio getting all of the songs recorded. I am in the middle of making a record right now, so it’s really exciting. I cannot wait to put out my music. And I’m also doing some tour dates, I’m doing some festivals, opening up for a few people. I’m gonna be doing a couple of headlining shows at some point. So just, you know, just musicing it up!
You’ll be back here for Black Deer Festival in June but are there any other plans to come back to the UK after that?
I’m sure there’s going to be more opportunities to come to the UK, at least I hope so. But definitely around the Black Deer Festival there’s gonna be some other dates that I will be doing as well so stay tuned for that.
Zandi Holup’s debut single, ‘Gas Station Flowers’, is out now on Big Loud Records.
See Zandi live in the UK at Black Deer Festival, Eridge Park, Kent from 14-16 June 2024 – tickets on sale now at https://www.blackdeerfestival.com/.
