The LiV Warfield Xperience Coming To Spiegeltent ZaZou For One Night Only

PHOTO BY ELLIOT FISHER
PHOTO BY ELLIOT FISHER

The LiV Warfield Xperience Coming To Spiegeltent ZaZou For One Night Only

By Tia Carol Jones

For the last few years, audiences could find LiV Warfield performing her heart out under the Spiegeltent ZaZou at the Cambria Hotel as part of Teatro ZinZanni. On Nov. 18th, audiences can experience the storytelling and artistry that is Teatro ZinZanni Presents: The LiV Warfield Xperience under that same tent.

Warfield has been singing professionally for more than 20 years. She released “The Unexpected” in 2014, “Live at Café Wha?” in 2022 and “The Edge” in 2023. She has appeared on “America’s Got Talent” in Summer 2024 and Simon Cowell gave her the Golden Buzzer.

Warfield said the LiV Warfield Xperience encompasses everything she has learned since she started. She started as an R&B singer, then worked with Prince for seven years. She said working with him opened her eyes and ears to all musicians as a whole.

“I say the Xperience because it is about every musician, every singer, because I don’t think of them as background singers, because they have their own bands. Every musician on that stage, they’re world class, so it’s about a whole,” she said.

Warfield said she likes the storytelling and theatrics and Teatro ZinZanni is giving her place to do the vision she has also wanted to do. She said it’s music first as the foundation, but everything else is the theatrics, the story behind the lyrics, the performances behind the lyrics. She said audiences can expect soul, rock n’roll, sexy and passionate. People should wear comfortable shoes and expect the unexpected.

The Xperience will feature Ryan Waters on guitar, Jay (Justin McKinney) on bass, Theodis Rodgers, Jr. on keys, Marlon Patton on drums, Redd (Charles Middleton), Saeeda Wright, Allen Cato on guitar and DJ Duane Powell, as well as ZinZanni contortionist Elayne Kramer. Warfield said what inspired her the most is the theatrics and storytelling of Prince’s “Sign O’ The Times” show. She was also inspired by “Cleopatra Jones and the Casino Jones” and “Foxxy Brown.” She is a big fan of Isaac Hayes because of the way he scored movies, with the music that was symphonic with the stories behind it.

Warfield has been doing the Teatro ZinZanni off and on for four to five years as different characters. Having different Cirque acts and an ever-changing cast at Teatro ZinZanni keeps the show really fresh. What drew Warfield to the production is that everybody is passionate about what they do and everyone is an artist.

“It’s so cool because you get to do this with world-renowned Cirque artists, Cirque acts. It’s a cross between theatre, comedy, and amazing singers. I’m with Michael Cunio, who’s a phenomenal singer, too. It bridges all those worlds, and the band is amazing, too,” she said.

She added that she was drawn to Teatro ZinZanni because of the live band because live music is her thing. She said the intimate performance space grew her as a performer. She jumps off the stage and gets into the audience. She said it broke down some of her shy barriers a little bit as an artist.

Warfield has learned who she is as an artist. She has learned to be OK with being authentically her. She hopes that her art is serving to inspire. She believes that she has had so many blessings because she took a lot of chances. She believes that God has blessed her because she stayed faithful. Warfield said it is a blessing to be able to carry out her vision at Teatro ZinZanni. She feels blessed to be able to explore her imagination in that place.

“I’ve been praying for something like this to happen. I never thought it would happen inside a 100-year-old circus tent. But, that makes the fantasy more inspiring. It makes the energy of celebrating the artists more inspiring to me,” she said.

While Teatro ZinZanni is the project that is her heartbeat right now, Warfield is working on a symphony project with the Peoria Symphony where she will be singing and doing aerial. The symphony project is a big project that will happen in 2025.

Tickets for Teatro ZinZanni Presents: The LiV Warfield Xperience cost $60. To purchase, visit https://tzchicago-tickets.zinzanni.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=12.


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