Velvet Rouge Releases 'I Don't Know Why' Single With Video Feat. Playhouse West Actors

Finding beauty beneath the pain and harmony hiding in heartbreak is an art form that Gina Zo has mastered as frontwoman of the Philly-bred, L.A.-based indie rock act Velvet Rouge.

The trio have released “I Don’t Know Why” alongside a music video from their self-titled EP due Friday. The 5-track collection is a soundtrack to an all-nighter at the heartbreak hotel recorded and produced by Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey (War On Drugs, Sharon Van Etten, Kurt Vile, Dr. Dog).  To celebrate the release, the trio will perform in their hometown on Saturday, July 27 at Johnny Brenda’s in Philly.

In discussing the single,  Zo said, “I wrote this at one of my lowest lows. This song has become my triumph and it's THE most requested at every show. It screams for you to not know who you are, but hope that one day if you just let out all your insecurities and admit you don’t know anything… you’ll discover who the f you are.”

The video includes Zo’s acting classmates from the legendary Playhouse West in Los Angeles and Philadelphia – the alumni for Ashley Judd, Lake Bell, Chace Crawford and more. “I’ve always felt like I didn’t know what crowd I fit into - like I was a little bit of everyone,” said Zo. “I think that is what most artists feel and so this video brings together the whole idea of discovery - you are stuck in your same old situation over and over again. The same old boring life. You finally decide to move forward, to give up on the old you and take a chance on the new you. There are bumps along the way, there is longing you wish to find, but in the end… it is YOU.”

From the whispered breaths of the folk-pop track “Lonely Since The Day We Met” to the shout-it-out nature of the rocking boot-stomper "Shattered," the material on Velvet Rouge’s self-titled debut EP includes steady beats from Buddy Mazzenga, guitar-driven rhythm from Joe McEnany, and guest pianist Tyler DeTulleo, Zo’s younger brother.

“I have always been a drama queen so it’s helped that I could feel deeply, and I could sing it out and write it into songs,” says Zo – the fiery talent whose auburn hair is a natural extension of the band name and the synesthesia-like reflexes that has her seeing red when writing new material. “It’s always been an outlet for me to sing about people I was dating,” she jokes.

“Imagine someone you loved turned their back on you. Or the moment you thought someone you trusted was honest only to find out they lied. Velvet Rouge is the color you exude when you’re betrayed by someone you trusted,” concludes  Zo about the common theme of the EP.

The self-titled EP follow's Velvet Rouge's debut EP, Dark Hallways which came out October 2021 (under their previous alias, Zo) with "All The Things I Could Do" amassing 27,000 Spotify streams within 48 hours. In 2022, Gina Zo was inducted into the Recording Academy Philadelphia Chapter and set out on a journey to put her mark on rock n roll. Later that year, the trio was voted Best Rock Band in Philly and was featured in Philly Style Magazine’s where they were crowned, "Philly's Hottest Rock Band.

EP tracklist

1. Lonely Since The Day We Met

2. Trial

3. I Don’t Know Why

4. Shattered

5. When Did I Become

Velvet Rouge is more than half-way through their tour with remaining dates in Philadelphia, Bethlehem and Camden for Xponential Music Festival, arriving in New York City on October 5 at Arlene's Grocery. More to be announced. 

Tour Dates:

07/27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s

08/07 – Bethlehem, PA @ Musikfest

09/20 – Camden, NJ @ Xponential Music Festival

10/05 – New York, NY @ Arlene's Grocery

10/19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Evil Genius Beer Co.

Photo Credit: Hunter Carrico

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