The C2C Sit Down with Zandi Holup
The smooth and delightful Americana sound of Big Loud Records artist Zandi Holup was one of our absolute highlights across two weekends of country music at Europe’s biggest country music festival. The Pennsylvania-born “Northern Queen” found her way to Nashville in 2017 where she now calls home for her free-spirited folk country melodies intertwined with witty lyrics that are not quite as sweet and innocent as you may expect from this flower child.
We spent some time with Zandi during the Saturday of C2C: Country to Country in Berlin and she would also make her way over to the UK to perform at the festival in London the following weekend. In addition to this, between the two weekends it was confirmed that she would be back in the UK in June to appear at Black Deer Festival over the weekend of June 14th to 16th.
Firstly, welcome to Germany which as a Brit on their first time here talking to an American feels very strange to be saying. You will be over in London too so we will look ahead to that because it’s pretty different to things here and I’m sure you are really excited to come and see us too. I caught your set this morning and I’m guessing that you may have heard a few things about the European fans before you came over, so did it live up to those expectations?
“Yeah, I heard that European fans are huge music lovers who really respect storytelling and lyrics, and I felt that from the crowd for sure because everyone was extremely intensely and respectfully listening to the songs. It so was fulfilling to perform for this crowd.”
You said on stage how you don’t have a huge amount of music on DSP’s but have been doing a lot on your socials and a lot of people probably didn’t know who you were and I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of them didn’t actually know what TikTok was, so to get that reaction and the people just give you their time must feel really satisfying.
“Oh yeah, I think as a musician, that’s one of the things that is priceless. Just having someone listen to you and give your heart the time of day, just to be given the time of day and have someone say my ears are open, my heart is open to your creations is really special.”
On listening to you, there is a lot of folk and other influences as well as country in your sound so, I think people will hear you as Americana which is super cool because it has wider parameters for creativity and more freedom in what you incorporate into your music. To describe what you do musically is almost like the “Dream Country” sounds when Sarah Darling was in that era combined with the Ashley McBryde kind of spice in your lyrics so you have a little devil’s tail as well as the fairy wings which I am totally here for.
“Thank you, I think what I like about music in 2024 is that genres are becoming more fluid and everything is just kind of flowing more. I like Americana because it is such a broad term and it’s inclusive to many different styles of music so I would consider myself to be Americana and I also consider myself country and folk as a songwriter because to me that all falls under the Americana umbrella as it is all of those things.”
We spent some time with Zandi during the Saturday of C2C: Country to Country in Berlin and she would also make her way over to the UK to perform at the festival in London the following weekend. In addition to this, between the two weekends it was confirmed that she would be back in the UK in June to appear at Black Deer Festival over the weekend of June 14th to 16th.
Firstly, welcome to Germany which as a Brit on their first time here talking to an American feels very strange to be saying. You will be over in London too so we will look ahead to that because it’s pretty different to things here and I’m sure you are really excited to come and see us too. I caught your set this morning and I’m guessing that you may have heard a few things about the European fans before you came over, so did it live up to those expectations?
“Yeah, I heard that European fans are huge music lovers who really respect storytelling and lyrics, and I felt that from the crowd for sure because everyone was extremely intensely and respectfully listening to the songs. It so was fulfilling to perform for this crowd.”
You said on stage how you don’t have a huge amount of music on DSP’s but have been doing a lot on your socials and a lot of people probably didn’t know who you were and I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of them didn’t actually know what TikTok was, so to get that reaction and the people just give you their time must feel really satisfying.
“Oh yeah, I think as a musician, that’s one of the things that is priceless. Just having someone listen to you and give your heart the time of day, just to be given the time of day and have someone say my ears are open, my heart is open to your creations is really special.”
On listening to you, there is a lot of folk and other influences as well as country in your sound so, I think people will hear you as Americana which is super cool because it has wider parameters for creativity and more freedom in what you incorporate into your music. To describe what you do musically is almost like the “Dream Country” sounds when Sarah Darling was in that era combined with the Ashley McBryde kind of spice in your lyrics so you have a little devil’s tail as well as the fairy wings which I am totally here for.
“Thank you, I think what I like about music in 2024 is that genres are becoming more fluid and everything is just kind of flowing more. I like Americana because it is such a broad term and it’s inclusive to many different styles of music so I would consider myself to be Americana and I also consider myself country and folk as a songwriter because to me that all falls under the Americana umbrella as it is all of those things.”
I am a huge Lana Del Rey fan and I am so excited about her country project that’s coming later this year so, for me, when I first heard “Gas Station Flowers” that is a similar kind of feel that I’m anticipating from her record. That is the song which people will have heard from you as like you said, it’s the song that is on the DSP’s but it must be cool to see that people are listening here in Europe then you are able to bring your songs and stories over to a totally new place.
“It’s definitely really cool to see people all around the world connecting and that’s what music is and that’s why music is special because it can connect. I am excited to hear what other artists coming into country music are going to be creating, I’ve definitely been given comparisons to Lana Del Rey because I think both her and I have had certain songwriting styles that are more victim driven in a way, that’s like a lack of being afraid to be embarrassed due to your pain. Where as a lot of people are ashamed to put themselves in the position of kind of being used, hurt and I guess just sad ha-ha.”
Nashville is home for you now, but Pennsylvania was originally home wasn’t it?
“Yes I live in Nashville now, I was born in Pennsylvania, I grew up in New Jersey and I went to school in New York so, I just say that I am a Northern Queen ha-ha.”
Ah ok, so you have moved around the North East a bit, I was going to ask if you were Steelers PA or Eagles Pennsylvania.
“Eagles Pennsylvania one hundred percent! My whole family are Eagles fans who bleed green.”
Oh no Zandi! This was going so well and I really liked you until you said that because I’m a big Cowboys fan but I’ll let you off this once ha-ha. Coming back to music, what are we looking at in terms of putting more things out there? We have talked about how you have been sharing more on the socials but are we building towards something that is possibly extended and going to hit the DSP’s at some point?
“Yes it will one hundred percent be done. I think recording music is a delicate process and you want to make sure that it’s done right because to me if I’m going to be putting something out that is going to live in the world forever ultimately, I want to make sure that it is something that I’m proud of at this point in my life. Right now, I’m just in the studio and really working on a piece of art that speaks to where I am at right now in my life.”
One of the things about sharing music on TikTok and Instagram is that you can gauge how things are going to go and what people connect with more before like you say it has a permanent record when it goes onto Spotify, Apple or Amazon. Also, the consumers are the people that will ultimately digest the music and they may be drawn more to a song that you may not have been as convinced by.
“That’s what I love about social media because I’m able to test songs with the actual people who will be listening to them. That’s the greatest thing about it and I love being able to hear an immediate response to how someone is going to enjoy the piece of art that I have created. I don’t take it personally because when I create art, I start out creating it for myself but ultimately I’m creating it for the people that will listen to it. If I have a response on a piece of art that I wasn’t particularly thinking was going to infinity and beyond or whatever but everybody else seems to gravitate to it, I will lean into that because what’s the point in me creating art when there are people listening and they don’t like it. I want to make sure that they enjoy what I’m putting there.”
When I was watching you play earlier, I kept looking at your guitar because it’s so pretty. I love the black with the roses on it, it looks so nice. How long have you had it and who did the design on there?
“Awh thank you, I’ve had that guitar since high school and I love him so much. His name is Martin Rose which is pretty unoriginal because he is a Martin and he has roses on ha-ha. I’ve learned about myself that I’m not the greatest at naming things, I am very basic when it comes to my names. I’ve had him since high school and my aunt who is an incredible muralist and songwriter as well, she is the one who painted the roses on my guitar.”
Love it, that’s so cool and you play it so well too as you are a proper little picker, did you teach yourself when you first started playing?
“So, actually both my dad and my aunt do traditional folk style finger picking. I picked their style up from them and that’s where I got my finger picking style from.”
That’s cool. You’ve got a couple more sets in Germany this weekend and three at The O2 in London where you are going to go down so well. You are massively on brand and in my arc musically, I’m never really sure what my arc actually is but I am always drawn to really positive people that sing sad songs.
“Ha-ha that’s hilarious because that is literally me in a nutshell. I get comments on the internet where people say it’s good to see you smile and it makes me laugh because I think that I can smile on the world but the way that I am able to smile is by channelling my pain through the music.”
I love what you do musically and how you do have this fairy type aura but have little devil horns poking through when you are slyly sassy with your lyrics, I really liked the song you did earlier called “Dirty Wings”. I’m excited for you to come to London and I already know how well you will go down.
“Thank you and I appreciate that. I’m going to be releasing more music, it’s coming. This year there will be a body of work released, I’m just in the process of being in the studio and working on that but one hundred percent I will be releasing a body of work.”
You know, that will allow you to properly introduce yourself and whilst it’s great to see reactions on socials, an extended project will allow people to see who Zandi Holup really is.
“Also, I think it’s going to help them know who I am, just hearing the entire song through and through but also for people to be able to turn on the music and listen to it organically then have the opportunity to connect with the music in a bigger way than just on a social media video. Being able to have a listening experience is so different than watching a video and just consuming a piece of a song. I think it will definitely be a different experience that I’m looking forward to because I also hope to produce vinyl for my music and I think that is a whole other level of listening experience.”
Oh yes, vinyl just is the way music should be listened to! I became that person during the pandemic, it has become a very expensive hobby for me since then. I just like how it makes things sound more natural and less polished when you listen to music.
“I agree and I think that at least for me when I listen to music that I’m attracted to, it’s every little flaw because that is what makes it real and that is what makes it whole in a way.”
Thank you so much Zandi, this has been really nice and a lot of fun. I love how chilled everything is here, next weekend is a very different story but can’t wait for you to play in London too.
“No thank you for taking the time to talk to me. I’m looking forward to all of the shows, I’m excited to come to London and I love Germany too so I guess it will soon be time for goodbye Berlin and hello London.”
“Gas Station Flowers” from Zandi Holup is out now via Big Loud Records and is available HERE. You can find details for all of Zandi’s upcoming shows, including a UK return in June to play Black Deer Festival in Kent by checking out her WBESITE or you can be the first to be in the know about any forthcoming new releases and what she is up to by following along on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK & FACEBOOK.
C2C: Country to Country will return in 2025 for three days of festivities in Berlin over the weekend of March 7th to 9th which you will be able to find further detail on their WEBSITE and on INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK where you will also be able to relive highlights from this year’s event.
The event will then roll into London, Glasgow and Belfast the following weekend between March 14th and 16th which you can keep a look out for all forthcoming details at the event WEBSITE or socials (INSTAGRAM TWITTER FACEBOOK) with line-up details expected to be announced later in the year.
“It’s definitely really cool to see people all around the world connecting and that’s what music is and that’s why music is special because it can connect. I am excited to hear what other artists coming into country music are going to be creating, I’ve definitely been given comparisons to Lana Del Rey because I think both her and I have had certain songwriting styles that are more victim driven in a way, that’s like a lack of being afraid to be embarrassed due to your pain. Where as a lot of people are ashamed to put themselves in the position of kind of being used, hurt and I guess just sad ha-ha.”
Nashville is home for you now, but Pennsylvania was originally home wasn’t it?
“Yes I live in Nashville now, I was born in Pennsylvania, I grew up in New Jersey and I went to school in New York so, I just say that I am a Northern Queen ha-ha.”
Ah ok, so you have moved around the North East a bit, I was going to ask if you were Steelers PA or Eagles Pennsylvania.
“Eagles Pennsylvania one hundred percent! My whole family are Eagles fans who bleed green.”
Oh no Zandi! This was going so well and I really liked you until you said that because I’m a big Cowboys fan but I’ll let you off this once ha-ha. Coming back to music, what are we looking at in terms of putting more things out there? We have talked about how you have been sharing more on the socials but are we building towards something that is possibly extended and going to hit the DSP’s at some point?
“Yes it will one hundred percent be done. I think recording music is a delicate process and you want to make sure that it’s done right because to me if I’m going to be putting something out that is going to live in the world forever ultimately, I want to make sure that it is something that I’m proud of at this point in my life. Right now, I’m just in the studio and really working on a piece of art that speaks to where I am at right now in my life.”
One of the things about sharing music on TikTok and Instagram is that you can gauge how things are going to go and what people connect with more before like you say it has a permanent record when it goes onto Spotify, Apple or Amazon. Also, the consumers are the people that will ultimately digest the music and they may be drawn more to a song that you may not have been as convinced by.
“That’s what I love about social media because I’m able to test songs with the actual people who will be listening to them. That’s the greatest thing about it and I love being able to hear an immediate response to how someone is going to enjoy the piece of art that I have created. I don’t take it personally because when I create art, I start out creating it for myself but ultimately I’m creating it for the people that will listen to it. If I have a response on a piece of art that I wasn’t particularly thinking was going to infinity and beyond or whatever but everybody else seems to gravitate to it, I will lean into that because what’s the point in me creating art when there are people listening and they don’t like it. I want to make sure that they enjoy what I’m putting there.”
When I was watching you play earlier, I kept looking at your guitar because it’s so pretty. I love the black with the roses on it, it looks so nice. How long have you had it and who did the design on there?
“Awh thank you, I’ve had that guitar since high school and I love him so much. His name is Martin Rose which is pretty unoriginal because he is a Martin and he has roses on ha-ha. I’ve learned about myself that I’m not the greatest at naming things, I am very basic when it comes to my names. I’ve had him since high school and my aunt who is an incredible muralist and songwriter as well, she is the one who painted the roses on my guitar.”
Love it, that’s so cool and you play it so well too as you are a proper little picker, did you teach yourself when you first started playing?
“So, actually both my dad and my aunt do traditional folk style finger picking. I picked their style up from them and that’s where I got my finger picking style from.”
That’s cool. You’ve got a couple more sets in Germany this weekend and three at The O2 in London where you are going to go down so well. You are massively on brand and in my arc musically, I’m never really sure what my arc actually is but I am always drawn to really positive people that sing sad songs.
“Ha-ha that’s hilarious because that is literally me in a nutshell. I get comments on the internet where people say it’s good to see you smile and it makes me laugh because I think that I can smile on the world but the way that I am able to smile is by channelling my pain through the music.”
I love what you do musically and how you do have this fairy type aura but have little devil horns poking through when you are slyly sassy with your lyrics, I really liked the song you did earlier called “Dirty Wings”. I’m excited for you to come to London and I already know how well you will go down.
“Thank you and I appreciate that. I’m going to be releasing more music, it’s coming. This year there will be a body of work released, I’m just in the process of being in the studio and working on that but one hundred percent I will be releasing a body of work.”
You know, that will allow you to properly introduce yourself and whilst it’s great to see reactions on socials, an extended project will allow people to see who Zandi Holup really is.
“Also, I think it’s going to help them know who I am, just hearing the entire song through and through but also for people to be able to turn on the music and listen to it organically then have the opportunity to connect with the music in a bigger way than just on a social media video. Being able to have a listening experience is so different than watching a video and just consuming a piece of a song. I think it will definitely be a different experience that I’m looking forward to because I also hope to produce vinyl for my music and I think that is a whole other level of listening experience.”
Oh yes, vinyl just is the way music should be listened to! I became that person during the pandemic, it has become a very expensive hobby for me since then. I just like how it makes things sound more natural and less polished when you listen to music.
“I agree and I think that at least for me when I listen to music that I’m attracted to, it’s every little flaw because that is what makes it real and that is what makes it whole in a way.”
Thank you so much Zandi, this has been really nice and a lot of fun. I love how chilled everything is here, next weekend is a very different story but can’t wait for you to play in London too.
“No thank you for taking the time to talk to me. I’m looking forward to all of the shows, I’m excited to come to London and I love Germany too so I guess it will soon be time for goodbye Berlin and hello London.”
“Gas Station Flowers” from Zandi Holup is out now via Big Loud Records and is available HERE. You can find details for all of Zandi’s upcoming shows, including a UK return in June to play Black Deer Festival in Kent by checking out her WBESITE or you can be the first to be in the know about any forthcoming new releases and what she is up to by following along on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK & FACEBOOK.
C2C: Country to Country will return in 2025 for three days of festivities in Berlin over the weekend of March 7th to 9th which you will be able to find further detail on their WEBSITE and on INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK where you will also be able to relive highlights from this year’s event.
The event will then roll into London, Glasgow and Belfast the following weekend between March 14th and 16th which you can keep a look out for all forthcoming details at the event WEBSITE or socials (INSTAGRAM TWITTER FACEBOOK) with line-up details expected to be announced later in the year.