Stepping Into Zinadelphia’s Boutique
Zinadelphia’s hometown show at The Theatre of Living Arts was every bit as dazzling as it was intimate.
Zinadelphia | Photo by Emma Zoe Polyak for WXPN
“Everything I seek is also seeking me,” sings Zinadelphia on the title track of her new EP, The Boutique. It’s a phrase that doubles as both an affirmation and thesis, running beneath each song on the project, and throughout Friday night’s set The Theatre of Living Arts.
The show marked a significant milestone, arriving in the middle of her The Boutique tour and standing as her largest Philadelphia headline performance to date. The room was buzzing with an excited energy by the time I arrived, filled with a hometown crowd that was eager to sing and dance the night away with Zina.
She opened with “The Ugly Truth.” The first notes were met with a loud roar from the crowd before she took the stage, dancing right to her feather-adorned microphone stand.
Part of what makes Zinadelphia so special to watch live is her knack for bringing care and intention to the worlds she builds around her music. Her previous EP, The Magazine, leaned into a distinct retro sensibility, complete with a cover that looked like it belonged on a ‘60s magazine rack. The Boutique has been just as immersive, seemingly encouraging many in the crowd to show up as their most fashionable selves.
The stage was also transformed: mannequins dressed in Zinadelphia merch lined the back, while elaborate furniture, feathers, and soft drapery filled out the stage, framing Zina and her band. It felt like an invitation to step into her universe and stay awhile. Earlier in the day, Zinadelphia made a quick stop to Philly AIDS Thrift store, bringing The Boutique to life with a pop-up performance.
She played The Boutique in full, moving seamlessly between new material and earlier releases, weaving her music into a cohesive narrative with anecdotes about songs’ origins. Early in the set, she slowed things down with the first song she ever released, “Mirrorball.” Hearing a song that was born during her days at Temple University — and sung at her biggest hometown show to date — felt apropos, and Zina seemed to think so too, reminiscing about those days before singing the jazzy debut.
That sense of intentionality extended into the show’s more playful moments. During “Call Up Nancy,” a fan is usually selected to join her onstage, chosen through the elusive “Nancy Card.” When entering the venue, everyone was handed a small pamphlet that, in keeping with the theme of the show, served as both a catalogue of her merch and an explanation of the bit. It’s a concept that quite literally brings the audience into her world, reinforcing the ideas of fate and participation. In Philadelphia, however, fate took a slight detour – no card revealed itself. Not to worry, the show’s opener, Macy Todd was ready to bound on stage to dance and sing with Zinadelphia, a (perhaps suspiciously) fitting twist for Macy’s last show on tour.
Even at its large scale and elaborate design, the night never lost its sense of intimacy. Between songs, Zinadelphia spoke with an ease that made the room feel smaller. As dazzling as the set design and her velvety vocals were, it was this connection that made the night sparkle.