It's a cold December weeknight in New York City where the air has just turned frigid, but inside Irving Plaza, it is warm and packed. It's Tuesday, December 3rd, on the second-to-last show of Mark Ambor's 'Rockwood' tour. The last two shows are in NYC, Ambor's hometown state.
On tour with Mark Ambor is Kenzie Ziegler, a Los Angeles-based pop artist.
Kenzie released an album titled Biting My Tongue in July of 2024 following the success of her 2023 single "Anatomy." Kenzie has over 2 million monthly Spotify listeners and maintains an intimate and confessional nature to her music.
While Biting My Tongue is Kenzie's first album, she had a platform prior to her music career from her time on the show Dance Moms.
The audience was clearly excited to see Mark Ambor, but people sang along to her music and seemed to enjoy it.
In her opening set, Kenzie played "casualty", "me I was", "paper", "anatomy", "bad 4 u", "biting my tongue", and "6 feet under." Fans are looking forward to seeing her tour as a headlining artist. She is a young artist and still finding her presence on stage; however, she is a dynamic and captivating performer.
I particularly liked the song called "the me I was." It was super engaging, and she was dynamic, and you can tell she was genuinely having fun on stage. The instrumental breakdown post-chorus is reminiscent of Billie Eilish-type production. She is vulnerable yet playful here, singing about emotional changes with past selves while still enjoying herself on stage.
Kenzie has explained in interviews that the song "Paper" is usually a hit even for audiences that are new to her work. Having heard these songs for the first time live at Irving Plaza, I can agree. "Paper" is a crowd-pleaser, showing her playful side in a song about relationships.
Before this show, I had only ever heard the song "Anatomy" when it had been popular on TikTok. The track is a sort of letter to her absent father. She invited the audience to put their phone lights up "if they felt like it," and the crowd immediately lit up the dark with the twinkle of their flashlights. It was a very sweet moment where people seemed emotional, and Kenzie really connected with the audience. The song is more powerful live, especially given how difficult the subject matter is.
I'm excited to see where Kenzie will go as she releases more music and continues to tour. The 'Rockwood' tour with Mark Ambor may have concluded, but we can look forward to what the future will hold for Kenzie!
