Today we’d like to introduce you to Zan Fiskum

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?

I grew up taking classic piano lessons from a young age while also volunteering as a family at a local dinner theater, where I learned to fall in love with music and performing. I had taken a step away from playing music for a few years and picked it back up at 12 when I started writing music and singing at my church. It was a very exciting time for me, I had a journal full of song ideas and wanted to sing at church every moment I could. This brought many musicians into my life that I am still collaborating with to this day. My church needed a guitar player so I started learning at 17 and picked it up in just three months, my obsessive nature at work there. Around the same time was asked to perform for my high school coorination, where the exhilarating feeling of performing returned to me. Shortly after I started playing in local coffee shops and joined a band as the keys player/background vocalist. When I left for college in 2015, I couldn’t kick the itch to keep writing and performing despite entering a busy season. I was playing multiple 3-hour sets most weekends, busking, singing at church, and recording song ideas in my roommate’s closet, as well as recording albums with a group at my college called SEU Worship. I returned home in 2018 and released six singles on a whim and ended up having over a million streams in just a year. Then in 2019 after attending a Lennon Stella concert at the Neptune Theater in Seattle, WA, I decided to take a leap of faith and go full-time with music. And apparently, that meant auditioning for NBC’s The Voice. I did not expect my time at the Voice to work out at all, every time I advanced I was honestly shocked but in the end, I somehow ended up in the Top 9. Right after the show I released my debut album Sleeping Problems. Since then I have played with John Legend, and Dave Mathews, opened for The Avett Brothers, Preteek Kudah, and King Fish, and played at The Neptune Theater… the room that I decided to go full time with music in. The discouraging days come but I can say with deep conviction that this is what I love to do and it will always be a part of me.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

No, I don’t think it has been a smooth road, but I am thankful it hasn’t been. Sometimes, I remind myself that “you’re paying your dues,” just like the legends I look up to and admire have. It’s just part of the process.
What I would say has been most difficult is you work really hard on songs, planning shows, and social media posts.. ect and the reality is most of them don’t work out as well as you’d hope them to. Not to mention the pressure to do well otherwise you may not be desirable to work with in the future, it can be a lot of pressure. It’s not personal when things don’t work the way you’d hoped, but it’s so hard not to make it personal since the art you’re creating is just about as close to you as anything could ever be.
I regularly doubt and question if I’m any good and spill many tears over the whole process but again I think those tears are a visual reminder that I love this so so much.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

I am an americana singer-songwriter known for my storytelling and ethereal and soulful vocals.

I am most proud of my new music that I have been writing within the last two years.

What matters most to you?

My faith in God, my husband, family, friends, building a meaningful and beautiful life, being a listening ear, being authentic and honest even when it’s uncomfortable, and being surrounded by beauty are some of the most important things to be.

I think that life can and should be beautiful but there is often a lot of difficulty and pain to weed through so why not just be honest and real with each other about what is really going on? Not everyone’s journey is as easy as another, so I think it’s up to all of us to help and care for those finding their way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.zanfiskum.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zanfiskum/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suzannah.fiskum/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@zanfiskum4112

Image Credits

Jessica Whitaker, Jon Taylor Sweet, Rebecca Bennet,