Vocalist, guitarist, & founder of community-building organizations Akron Peace Project and Big Love Network, brings his many talents to the BLU Jazz+ stage for a very special evening of music as part of our new Local Artist Spotlight series!
“We should manifest ourselves in exquisiteness every chance we get,” Zach professes his life’s philosophy on a recent release, The Antidote. Another song from his most recent release sums up his philosophy well, from the song This I Believe, “We’re all here to Love.”
This mantra is not only something Zach sings, but something he lives. In 2010, he started the Akron Peace Project, an organization working to educate and inspire nonviolence in the community, and in 2014 he was a founding member of the Big Love Network, which is focused on community-building efforts with arts, skill training, sustainability and design as citizen engagement. This project works with numerous organizations to increase compassion and peace in our daily lives. Recently named “Performer of the Year”, “Humanitarian of the Year” by Akron Life Magazine, he is also a yogi, Kingian Nonviolence Trainer, and a World Peace Diet Facilitator, and was just awarded the John T Looney Award for Justice and Peace.
Yet, perhaps his most powerful impact is through his music. “Music is so powerful. It can touch a soul at such a level as nothing else can,” Zach says. Lending his music to compassionate causes and events, he performs across the US nearly 200 dates annually for everything from yoga classes and veggie and peace fests, to house concerts and music festivals. The Parliament of World Religions has invited Zach to lead kirtan (sacred chanting for peace) at their upcoming conference in Toronto, Canada.
Zach has been performing music since 1998, touring the nation with over 215 performances yearly. He has released 17 CDs, using funds from these recordings to create a fund in Akron to help create nonviolence programming, and help plant trees in NE Ohio (the first several hundred trees in this program were planted in 2015). Zach performs for many peace, yoga and food related events nationwide, and encourages a zero waste focus at many of his events.
This year marks Zach’s 20th year of performing and recording, and by early 2019, he will have released his 20th record. Also in January 2019, he will mark his 5,000th performance. His upcoming project involves a musical recording about the wilderness of Wyoming, as well as the importance of wilderness in our lives. It is coupled with a book of his acclaimed photography and meditations/ song lyrics. Northeast Ohio’s Gretchen Pleuss is producing this project.