In 2016, Gina Castanzo (AKA Gina Zo) was featured on NBC’s The Voice, where she sang Andrew McMahon’s Cecilia and the Satellite. Only seventeen years old at the time, her performance granted her a spot on Team Blake for the show’s tenth season.
After her time on The Voice, Zo formed Velvet Rouge the current band on WMMR's Local Shots Artist of the Month. The band has performed at an eclectic mix of Philly’s music venues, including a sold-out show at Johnny Brenda's, World Cafe Live, and Kung Fu Necktie. Velvet Rouge has also had the opportunity to perform on WXPN for National Public Radio Day 2022, as seen in NPR Music.
Velvet Rouge's debut EP Dark Hallways was released in October of 2021 (under their previous alias, Zo) amassing over 30,000 plays on Spotify. In 2022, Gina Zo was inducted into the Recording Academy Philadelphia Chapter and has set out on a journey to put her mark on rock n roll.
The rock band has only just begun their rock reign in Philly and beyond: In late 2022, Velvet Rouge was voted Best Rock Band in Philly & was featured in the March issue of Philly Style Magazine as the music to listen to in the Now section - where they were titled "Philly's Hottest Rock Band".
The rest of the year is jam-packed for the Philly Rock n' Roll band as they work on their next set of singles with Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey (War On Drugs, Sharon Van Etten, and Dr. Dog) at Miner Street Recording, Tommy Joiner at Milkboy Studios, and Mitch Beer at Retro City Studios.
