The Wiltern (Los Angeles, CA)
06/30/23
Pop singer-songwriter Zolita took the stage in Los Angeles, California supporting Bebe Rexha on her “Best F*N Night of My Life” tour. The queer songwriter, Zoë Montana Hoetzel who is better known by her stage name Zolita, recently released single “Grave” and uses her platform to advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community through her music. Her self-directed “Somebody I F*cked Once” music video trilogy went viral last year and was even featured at a film festival. After releasing her E.P., Falling In/Falling Out, in February of this year, she embarked on her U.S. headlining tour where she donated $1 from every ticket sold to the Trevor Project. Zolita is the perfect opener for Bebe Rexha, with immaculate stage presence and upbeat queer anthems that get the whole audience out of their seats.
As the lights dimmed and the first few notes of “I Fucking Love You” started playing, Zolita ran out onstage, microphone in hand. She greeted the crowd by shouting, “What’s up L.A.?!” Although used to smaller venues, Zolita had absolutely no issue commanding the Wiltern stage, making it obvious that her star power and energy is truly meant for a larger crowd. As she strutted across the stage singing “20 Questions,” the crowd responded by jumping up and down and matching her energy. Each of her songs are relatable, especially for queer people, which was insanely obvious as she introduced each during the breaks. She explained her next song, “Ruin My Life,” is about “being so obsessed with somebody that you don’t care if they ruin your life.” Co-written with Riley Biederer and David Naish, the upbeat tempo got everyone up and dancing by the end of the first chorus. Later on in the set, she brought out her drummer, Andre Mohring, to center stage to play a stripped down version of “Ashley,” which was followed by a performance of newest single “Grave.”
One of the most memorable moments of the night was Zolita’s cover of the classic Carrie Underwood song, “Before [S]he Cheats,” where she changed the pronouns to fit her own identity. Even doing something as little as changing pronouns in a popular song helps provide much needed representation for the queer community and can also help people in the crowd feel seen in ways the original song never would have. For all the Bebe Rexha fans, this song was a necessity, as many of them were most likely unfamiliar with Zolita’s original music. Everyone in The Wiltern was up out of their seats, screaming the words to the song they all knew by heart. Zolita ended her set with a bang, performing her hit, “Somebody I F*cked Once.”
Now that I’ve seen Zolita several times in concert, I will never miss her when she is performing in town. Soaring above and beyond the vocals on her tracks, she is a must see artist in a live music setting. As an artist with so much determination to portray authentic LGBTQIA+ stories in all forms of media, I cannot recommend her music enough and her set was the perfect way to spend the last day of pride month. You won’t want to miss Zolita’s next tour!
