ZZ Ward has entered a new phase — one defined by clarity, control and a willingness to say exactly what she means. The blues singer calls her latest album, “Liberation,” her most unguarded work.

“This was a chapter of my musical life when I felt like nothing was holding me back from diving deeper into the blues,” said the 39-year-old Pennsylvania native.

“I wanted to make that the backbone of all of my songs on the new album. When I listened to that album as a whole, as a whole piece, ‘liberation’ was the word that just stuck out to me.”

She shared her blues/rock influences with fans on Sunday, March 1, at her sold-out show at the Musical Instrument Museum in North Phoenix. Ward doesn’t downplay the role of audio in a performance. “Sound is about 70 percent of a show,” she said. “The mix, the acoustics, the way a room feels — it all shapes how the audience experiences the music.”

On the MIM stage, Ward will play a selection of songs from her catalog, with an emphasis on “Liberation.” Her latest collection truly reflects her given vocals, she said.

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“The album has a nostalgic sound,” Ward explained. “I think my voice lends really well to that type of music. I grew up listening to a lot of Etta James, Big Mama Thornton and Koko Taylor. If you take those singers, and put autotune on them and polish them up, they’re not going to sound great, either. They sound great naturally.”

Lyrics are vital to her music, which attracts her to acts like Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt and Kendrick Lamar.

“I think Kendrick is such an amazing lyricist, and also his beats are so sick,” Ward said.

Smart and powerful

“He’s part of this wave of rap music that means something and it’s intentional, it’s smart and it’s powerful. There’s this wave of rap music after Kendrick that totally sucked, in my opinion. It’s just trash.”

Her blunt take on rap comes with the same conviction she brings to her own path — one that’s led her to Sun Records and back to the early moments that shaped her ear.

“Some of the first concerts I went to were in a park in my hometown,” she said. “They were Etta James and Blind Boys of Alabama. I think I saw the Dixie Chicks there. We didn’t have much music come through because it was so rural. Keb Mo played there.

“Seeing Etta [James], Blind Boys of Alabama and Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks was inspirational. It’s funny that that’s sort of become my life now. My life has come full circle.”

In turn, her former neighbors are incredibly supportive of her, said Ward, who has played there a handful of times. 

“They’re just amazing,” she said with a laugh. “They said, ‘Anytime you want to come back, we’ll have you.’ They’re so proud and supportive of me. That’s been a really fun experience.”