Catch Of The Week: Yuping Zhu
Meet Yuping Zhu from Andover, MA
Country music is so many things to so many people.
We used to equate the genre with the South or the West. Cowboys, Southern girls, songs about love gone wrong or roping and riding. Songs about dirt roads, trucks, fishing and hunting. Thankfully the horizons have opened, and the possibilities followed. It doesn’t matter where you grew up or what you write about, it’s the story… and it’s always been the story-telling that mattered most in country music. And it’s the ability to connect a story and melody to the ears it falls upon
The subject matter has endless promise. 17 year old Yuping Zhu has taken her talent and tapped into that promise. Although, just a high school senior, she already has learned to weave her dreams into melodies and effectively tell her story, making emotional connections.
Her brand new single, “If Only I Had an Airstream” is a dreamy vision of floating on the open road and all the experiences that go with it. Yuping wisely keeps her story simple, and real. She’s longing to see places she’s never been. But it’s her vision that drives this Airstream and it’s the journey that keeps the road interesting.
Zhu’s influences are woven in her lyrics and her vocals. You know Miranda, Taylor and Kacey were right there with her… riding along in that Airstream when she created the song.
The future is bright for this young woman, who embraced classical music for many years before she picked up a pen to write her stories and tell them through country songs.
New Zhu Music
Yuping released a brand new single, just days ago, and is excited to share it with you.
Enjoy the musical journey of the romantically picturesque, “If Only I Had an Airstream.”
Yuping Things
- Grew up in: Andover, Massachusetts
- Now lives in: Andover, Massachusetts
- Current single: “If Only I Had an Airstream”— I wrote it as an ode to the fearless freedom of an open road. The exciting edge that comes with traveling and discovering without a fixed destination. Just drifting, wandering, flying in the clouds.
- What lead you to music: I began playing piano at the age of three. The moment my tiny little fingers touched the keys, it was magic. My love for classical piano evolved into classical viola; the journey with my orchestra brought me to cathedrals and concert halls in Spain. Soon the radio began to influence my music; the lyrics added an ethereal element to the instrumental based pieces I was so used to at the time. I began to write my own lyrical and melodical stories; it felt cathartic to speak all the words I never gave myself the chance to say before.
- How old when you started: 3 years old. I started writing songs when I was 12.
- Instruments played: Guitar, Piano, Viola, Ukulele
- How would you describe your sound: Country Pop: whimsical, speaking every word my heart never had the nerve to say before.
- Who inspires you: Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Ingrid Andress, Donovan Woods
- Dream duet partner: Donovan Woods
- All- time favorite country song: The Way I Am: Merle Haggard
- First country concert: Lady Antebellum
- What songs do you like now on Country 1025: More Hearts Than Mine, Chasin’ You, Bluebird
- If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing: Contemplating my life choices
- Day Job: student
- Most proud moment: This next single, “If Only I Had an Airstream”
- Crazy thing that happened in your music career: I played the Bluebird Café in the same show as Craig Wiseman, who wrote the song that made me fall in love with country music. Full circle moment for sure.
- Other things you like to do: Read novels that make me smile, bake new recipes I find on Pinterest, paint things that make me happy
- Fun facts: I used to be a competitive figure skater. I watch and get emotionally involved in real estate shows. I enjoy movies with bad ratings. The worse it is, the better, in my opinion.
- Mantra: Good things come to those who wait!
The Zhu Zone
Every week, Kruser’s Local Catch highlights New England’s homegrown country music talent, and tells you where to catch them locally and in Nashville. Click here to view previous catches.
