Zoe Nygaard and her band is ready to rock Taste of Clarkston. Photo by Phil Custodio

BY PHIL CUSTODIO
Clarkston News Editor
This is the first year Zoe Nygaard will perform at this year’s Taste of Clarkston, but not her first time performing in downtown Clarkston.
A few weeks ago, she performed for about an hour on the sidewalk on Main Street in front of Picasso’s Grapevine.
“It was really fun. It was nice to be outside,” said Nygaard, the daughter of Nicole and Greg Nygaard of Clarkston. “They have a grand piano they never use – a big, old fashioned piano.”
Zoe was visiting the shop with her mom after having just returned home from summer camp at Interlochen Center for the Arts, a profound experience for the young musician.
“It was amazing, probably the best experience of my life,” she said.
Zoe has been singing all her life, “as long as I’ve been walking, basically,” she said.
She started performing at age 8, and continued ever since.
“I’ve sung at lots of places, usually in Lake Orion at 20th Front Street, a lot of gigs in downtown Rochester, lots of restaurants, businesses, and community events like Brooksie Way,” said Zoe, 16, a junior at Clarkston High School who writes her own songs.
“I love it, I love music in general,” she said. “For us to perform for other people and share my love for music with others, it’s an amazing thing.”
She’ll perform at Taste of Clarkston with friends, Stephen Alvarez on drums and Conner Stormer on guitar. They have no band name – “We just play,” she said – but are scheduled to perform from 3-5 p.m. at the Washington and Main Street stage at the event, Oct. 1.
They were contacted by Taste of Clarkston organizers who caught her act online.
“Of course I said ‘yes,’” she said. “I think it’s a great opportunity. Any chance I can perform I just try it.”
At Taste, they’ll perform upbeat music, mostly, with lots of covers and some originals, like Nygaard’s tune “Out of the Cold.”
After graduation, she hopes to study at a performing arts college and have a career in music
“I can’t imagine doing anything other than music,” she said.