Rizo uses her trademark blend of songs, stories, performance art, comedy and glamor to explore the nature of home and how it informs our identity. Does where you hang your hat define who you are or how you think about yourself?
Exploring the concepts of Home, the prodigal daughter and Joseph Cambell’s reported quote that “Women don’t need to make the journey, they are the place that everyone is trying to get to.” Join Rizo as she reflects on returning to her home state of Oregon, and the land of her art hippy childhood from living in New York City and traveling internationally for over 15 years.
The New York Times once referred to Rizo as “SENSATIONAL… A fierce but kindhearted fusion of comedy, burlesque, performance art and rock ‘n’ roll.” Taking a cue from Piaf, Rizo (né Amelia Zirin-Brown) fully embraces the role of chanteuse. In recordings, she is a mysterious figure, a siren ushering you through tableaus of heartbreak, lust, and the murkiness in between. Live, she is an eyeful.
An international cult favorite, her stage shows bring her powerhouse vocals together with seductive storytelling and wild hilarious audience experiments. Rizo is a provocateur with an electric wit, and has been called a “diva par excellence” by The Guardian. In the studio she has collaborated with Moby, Reggie Watts, and Yo-Yo Ma; whose album Songs of Joy & Peace, which features Rizo, won a Grammy Award.
Rizo has also received a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, a Time Out London theater award, and a London Cabaret Award. Currently starring in the role of Madame Zinzanni in the revival of the much beloved Teatro ZinZanni and is in development for a television project with Michael Carbonaro of the popular series “The Carbonaro Effect.”