Musician and Artist Jessi Zazu Dies at 28

Jessi Zazu, artist, singer and former member of Those Darlins, died Tuesday from complications due to cancer. She turned 28 in July.

The tiny-yet-mighty performer was a force in the indie-rock and country scene in Nashville as she and the Darlins built a rabid following. The Scene described her style in 2012: “Fans know her as Jessi Zazu Darlin — a snarling, guitar-wielding dervish with a wicked drawl and a wild stage presence that's equal parts punk rock and backwoods country. She sounds every bit the kind of woman who could sing a riposte to the Louvin Brothers' cautionary tale 'You're Running Wild' and have none other than Charlie Louvin himself endorse it.”

Zazu was born Jessi Wariner in Franklin to artists David and Kathy Wariner. After her parents divorced, she grew up in small towns across Tennessee, Indiana and Kentucky. At 18, she moved to Murfreesboro, the town where, at age 12, she attended the Southern Girls Rock and Roll Camp. It was a foundational experience as Zazu later formed Those Darlins with three SGRRC volunteers.

And they didn’t let their inexperience — or young age — hold them back.

“One thing about Those Darlins is that when we started our band, we had no clue what we were doing at all," Zazu told the Scene in 2014. "We were just going for it. I was 17. I was so naive. I thought I could literally conquer the world with little to no problems. I definitely learned so much by trial and error, just constantly doing things and being like, ‘Oh my gosh. I totally screwed this up.’”

By summer 2009, Those Darlins had released their first album, which was followed by 2011’s Screws Get Loose and 2013’s Blur the Line. The act became a touring staple and was rewarded with a loyal following and some high-profile gigs, including a spot at 2014’s Bonnaroo.

Zazu was also an accomplished artist. Her first exhibit of drawings in 2013 — a collection of self-portraits and sketches of friends called Spit — was displayed at Ovvio Arte in a manner that was “purposefully haphazard,” the Scene noted, “as though the work has been chewed up and spit against the wall. ‘I like the way it's clustered,’ Zazu says with a drawl just before the drawings have been installed. ‘It reminds me of the way I live my life. Everything's tacked up as I go.’”

By December 2015, Those Darlins announced that they were breaking up, and the group embarked on a farewell tour in the new year. During the tour in February, Zazu began hemorrhaging, and a month later she was diagnosed with cervical cancer.

In a Scene cover story from earlier this year, Zazu detailed her decision to fight the disease in spite of the crushing physical toll it took on her. After releasing a video and a crowdfunding page to help cover her medical costs, she said she was overwhelmed with support from fans

“Before I felt defeated, because I had put so much energy into the band, and it was imploding,” she said. “I didn’t think anybody heard what I had been trying to say all those years. But after the ‘Ain’t Afraid’ video, I realized people had heard me the whole time. They wrote me about how our music impacted their lives in a significant way. I don’t have words to say how much that meant to me.”

Details are not yet available regarding a service, but a memorial fund has been set up in her name. Below is a clip of Those Darlins — along with guest performers Adia Victoria, Caitlin Rose and Tristen — performing their song "That Man" in the Scene offices in 2014.