Joan Zen

Professional, tight, experienced musicians Joan Zen and Jason Hicks relocated from the San Diego area 18 years ago to Montana.

Since then, Joan Zen has been voted “Best Musician of the Bitterroot Valley” in the Ravalli Republic’s Annual Reader’s Poll 10 years out of the last 14 years (2006-2014 and 2018). Huey Lewis performed on their 2nd original album, 2007’s Youniverse. The band released its 3rd studio album in 2017, This is the Fortunate Life.

Joan Zen covers a wide variety of styles including soul, funk, reggae, R&B, blues, and jazz. Available for hire for concerts, festivals, weddings, clubs, cafes, and private events, the Joan Zen band performs as a full band, or as smaller configurations including an acoustic soul trio or jazz quintet.

The Joan Zen band members include Eric Hutchins on guitar, Milan House on keyboards, Brandon Zimmer on drums, Branden Barker on bass, Jason Hicks on sax and E.W.I. (electronic wind synth), and Joan Zen up front on lead vocals and guitar. As an original and cover band, the group can ‘wow’ any crowd with their funky-soul original tunes, as well as playing great covers for dancing by Stevie Wonder, Prince, Aretha Franklin, and more.

Visit their website at joanzen.com.