Take a siiip with Steinza (at Le Poisson Rouge)
New York - April 10th, 2025
A flawlessly parked U-Haul trailer on Bleecker Street signaled that Steinza (Zachary Stein) had arrived, ready to put on a show as magnetic as it is meaningful. At 8pm at Le Poisson Rouge, he stepped onto the stage guitar in hand, alongside bandmates Ned Steves on bass and Noah Rauchwerk on drums. Together, the trio filled the room with music that felt completely unguarded and honest.
The night opened with fan favorites "Tricked," "Visions of You," and "High and Dry", that eased the crowd into Steinza's stripped-back but deeply authentic sound. By the third song, heads were bobbing and the crowd was singing along. Between tracks, Stein took a moment to introduce himself and establish one of the evening's running gags: every time he took a sip of water, the audience was to chant back "siiiiiip." What started as a silly bit quickly became a throughline of the night, and by the end it felt less like a bit and more like a longstanding inside joke shared between old friends.
Image from @steinza on Instagram
That balance of levity and vulnerability is central to understanding Steinza as an artist. Where his lyrics pull listeners inward to explore inner conflict, heartbreak, regret, and glimmers of hope, his stage presence pushes outward with humor and self-awareness. He generously contextualized many of his songs, offering the stories and headspace behind their creation. "Shivers" captures the bittersweet guilt of being the one to end a relationship. "Work of God" was born from quiet admiration. Perhaps the most revealing introduction of the night came before "Bible Bluff." Stein explained that he grew up deeply connected to the Christian faith, but as he got older, he found himself living in ways that contradicted what that faith defined as a good man. In his own words, he wrote "Bible Bluff" to call himself out, to talk shit about feeling like a hypocrite and a liar. Matching the song's complicated emotional temperature, the venue lights dimmed to red as Stein stepped forward alone for a handful of acoustic songs.
He took the moment to reflect on his journey, sharing stories of his early days playing live in Virginia Beach, where locals weren't receptive to his original music and more interested in requests for “real tunes" like “Wagon Wheel”. He described how meaningful it was for the New York crowd singing his lyrics back to him. He closed out the acoustic stretch with tender, fingerpicked renditions of “Doctor Doctor” and “23” before his bandmates rejoined and the energy shifted, closing with an almost rock-tinged take on “Cabernet Serenade"“that brought the room to life.
The staccato drumming and melodic fingerpicking of “Weep” launched the band into their next stretch with precision and energy. Stein then shared the story behind “Taste the Dirt,” written after waking from an unwelcome dream about an unfaithful ex. The song runs through everything he dislikes about that person, and the live rendition gave the charged lyrics an extra jolt of liveliness. The mood shifted with “Wait and See,” a hopeful and yearning song about a future partner, its warmth landing as a sharp contrast to what came before. Next up was “The Former,” the band's most streamed song and a social media favorite, which landed with the cathartic release it has earned a reputation for.
As the night began to wind down and Stein announced they had just one song left, someone in the crowd seized the moment and called out "Wagon Wheel," a callback to his earlier story about Virginia Beach. Stein took it in stride, laughing before belting out the chorus with full commitment. He kept the silliness going, throwing in a few bars of Owl City's "Fireflies" for good measure. That willingness to be playful and present, to let the night breathe and go where it wants, is as much a part of the Steinza experience as the songs themselves.
Finally, the audience members who had been whispering “Christine” all night got their wish. Stein announced the backstory of the song, which may have been the most charming origin story of the evening. Without giving too much away, it was inspired by a chance encounter with a beautiful woman at the dentist. The crowd played an active role in the performance, calling back the song's tags with enthusiasm. It was a closing moment that felt perfectly in tune with everything the night had been: funny, honest, and deeply human.
Stein and his band continue on their US tour for the recently released album Steinza was Here! In the fall, Stein will be supporting Matt Maeson on tour on Europe.
