KZFR presents Lizzie No

You could say that Lizze No makes “Americana” music, in that her work pulls from the rhythms and traditions of Blues, Folk, and Country — not unlike the artists to whom she’s most often compared: Allison Russell, Rhiannon Giddens and Adia Victoria — but her collaborations with Brian Dunne, Pom Pom Squad and Domino Kirke display an undeniable Indie influence that allows No to move frequently and seamlessly between overlapping musical circles. 

We're happy to share that Beti will be opening the show! She was born in Ethiopia and grew up in Northern California. She first started playing classical violin in her public school orchestra and in her Ethiopian church community, where people recognized her as the masenqo player (due to the similarity between the Ethiopian masenqo and western violin). Her music is inspired by what she listened to in her childhood and adolescence, which includes Ethiopian music, indie folk music, and classical music. Her songs reflect on her search for meaning and purpose as she navigates adulthood as an Ethiopian American and she hopes they provide comfort and an opportunity for reflection for all who listen.

You can listen to her unique work on Youtube.

Tickets available on Eventbrite & at the KZFR office in downtown Chico, CA weekdays 10am-2pm

You could say that Lizzie No writes “protest” songs, in that as a Queer, Black woman, her entire existence is a living, breathing, singing protest against a genre and a country that, on their best days, are reluctant to reckon with the very foundations upon which they were built. The erasure of Black artists is central to the myth of country music — what it means, what it stands for, where it comes from — and so simply by standing on stage and singing, whether it be in theaters across the country with the Black Opry, or at Queer Line Dancing nights with the Lavender Country tour, Lizzie No is staging a kind of protest. After a dizzying five-year span that saw the release of two stunning, eclectic albums (Hard Won and Vanity, which drew praise from the likes of Billboard and Rolling Stone) — followed by appearances at AmericanaFest, the Newport Folk Festival, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and SXSW, and tours with Iron & Wine, Son Little, and Adia Victoria — Lizzie No found themselves at the forefront of a new vanguard of genre-defying artists. Their new album, Halfsies (Thirty Tigers / Miss Freedomland), finds No situated among their peers while still searching for freedom — freedom from the constraints of categorization, sure, but more importantly, freedom from the depths of their own personal despair and from an increasingly violent and nightmarish American cultural and political landscape.

KZFR volunteers will be serving up Sierra Nevada Brewery ales, wine, hard ciders, soda & water for purchase at the no-host bar. All funds raised at the bar support community radio.

Funds raised at this event benefit KZFR Community Radio - People Powered Community Radio!