It was a proper hometown release party on Saturday for Philly-made, LA-based modern rockers Velvet Rouge. The band, made up of frontwoman Gina Zo on vocals, Buddy Mazzenga on drums and Joe McEnany on Guitar, released their self-titled debut EP on Friday and then performed it at Johnny Brenda’s on Saturday night, in the double-decker room which was filled with friends and fans (both old and new). Fellow Philadelphia local artists, LazerDisc and Caring Less opened the night to help celebrate the release.
With some Johnny Brenda’s first timer’s in attendance, LazerDisc and Caring Less kicked things off playing to a room of excited friends (which was definitely the vibe of the night). Caring Less filled their middle set with a combination of older and newer songs and the crowd (whether friends of the band or new fans) were down with all of it.
Photos by: Ellen C Miller
After starting off their headlining set with a few older songs, Velvet Rouge threw in their first of two covers — “Aeroplane” by Red Hot Chili Peppers — before continuing the rest of the set with the newer songs off the EP. The second cover came as the final “encore” song of the night in the form of “Hella Good” by No Doubt. A great way to keep the energy up for the people to continue their Saturday night into the early morning hours of Sunday or just to insure safe travels home, for sure. While the fan energy seemed to be turned up all the way, the stage energy was still even higher for the duration of the night.
Check out the photos to see for yourself, and get psyched, since Velvet Rouge will be coming back around in September to rock Wiggins Park during XPoNential Music Festival 2024.