[ADELE-TA BLUES] Hailed as an Oregonian by most everyone outside the state—a little lady with a big voice growing up on a Roseburg farm makes for a nifty origin story—ZZ Ward hasn’t been given much love from hometown critics, who tend to equate R&B-flavored pop so lovingly layered with her adopted home of Los Angeles, anyhow. As her star continues to rise on the strength of her just-released first album, Til the Casket Drops, though, we always have room to embrace a new favorite daughter. Beyond her debut’s smoldering Top 40 ballad “Put the Gun Down,” lately graced with a synth-laden Passion Pit remix, there’s a wealth of blues and hip-hop textures framing choruses tailored for the emotive belting. If it all sounds a bit less interesting than the smoky warbles that graced initial mixtape Eleven Roses, that’s life in the big city. SUMMARY;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:ZZ Ward, Delta Rae, Martin Harley PRIORITY:3END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR