Rizo
Media resourcesBiography
Rizo (née Amelia Zirin-Brown) is a chanteuse and provocateur whose stage shows fuse powerhouse vocals with seductive storytelling and wildly hilarious audience experiments. Hailed by The Guardian as a "diva par excellence," she has collaborated with Moby, Reggie Watts and Yo-Yo Ma, the latter on his Grammy-winning Songs of Joy & Peace.
The New York Times has called Rizo (née Amelia Zirin-Brown) "a formidable belter," and The Guardian has hailed her as a "diva par excellence." A cult favorite who takes inspiration from Edith Piaf, Rizo fuses powerhouse vocals with seductive storytelling and wildly hilarious audience experiments, exploring the pleasures and pitfalls of our shadow selves through her own songs and narrative performances. Since releasing her second album Indigo in 2017, she has collaborated with Moby, Reggie Watts and Yo-Yo Ma, the latter on his Grammy-winning Songs of Joy & Peace. In 2019 she starred in Teatro Zinzanni's Love, Chaos & Dinner. She has fronted the six-piece house band at NYC's The Darby, performing alongside John Mayer, LeAnn Rimes and Bruno Mars. Her accolades include a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship, a Time Out London theater award and a London Cabaret Award.
The New York Times has called Rizo (née Amelia Zirin-Brown) “a formidable belter who can sustain phrases and notes even when sprawled on her back on a piano and scissoring her legs”—and they’re not alone in their admiration. Since releasing her second album Indigo in 2017, Rizo has collaborated with musical icons including Moby, Reggie Watts, and Yo-Yo Ma, the latter on his Grammy-winning Songs of Joy & Peace.
A true cult favorite, Rizo’s stage shows fuse powerhouse vocals with seductive storytelling and wildly hilarious audience experiments. Through her own songs and narrative performances, she explores the pleasures and pitfalls of our shadow selves, always with daring originality.
Taking inspiration from Edith Piaf, Rizo fully embraces the role of chanteuse. A provocateur with electric wit, she has been hailed by The Guardian as a “diva par excellence.” In 2019, she starred in Teatro Zinzanni’s Love, Chaos & Dinner, with the Chicago Sun-Times describing her as a “Grammy Award-winning vocalist whose powerhouse delivery is Lady Gaga meets Janis Joplin.” Her accolades include a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship, a Time Out London theater award, and a London Cabaret Award.
Rizo has served as frontwoman for the six-piece house band at NYC’s renowned club The Darby, performing alongside artists such as John Mayer, LeAnn Rimes, and Bruno Mars.
Videos
Press photos
Credit: Joel RamirezDownload hi-res
Credit: Karolina TurekDownload hi-res
Credit: Shervin LainezDownload hi-res
Credit: Shervin LainezDownload hi-res
Credit: Shervin LainezDownload hi-res
Credit: Allison OrensteinDownload hi-res
Credit: Kevin KauerDownload hi-res
Credit: Kevin KauerDownload hi-res
Press quotes
“SENSATIONAL… A fierce but kindhearted fusion of comedy, burlesque, performance art and rock ‘n’ roll”
“kooky, sexy, brilliant”
“The character and the real woman meld in a show that displays plenty of wit but also real tenderness.”
“Rizo herself is patently bright, a witty raconteur blessed with an incandescent talent… a real glamourpuss. But it’s the “real” Rizo, not just the surface image, which is especially appealing.”
Quick facts
- Featured on Yo-Yo Ma's Grammy-winning Songs of Joy & Peace
- Collaborators: Moby, Reggie Watts, Yo-Yo Ma
- New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship
- Time Out London theater award; London Cabaret Award
- Starred in Teatro Zinzanni's Love, Chaos & Dinner (2019)
- Latest album: Indigo (2017)
Latest release
Indigo (2017)
Official links
Materials updated October 2026