Rising to her feet, Ziggy Sixx took center stage at USC SPARK! Thursday night before the largest crowd of her career, belting out “Sleep Drink Die” while clinging to her acoustic guitar and baring her heart through song to astonished students at McCarthy Quad.

The popular music performance junior has spent years developing her identity and sound as an artist through introspective songwriting and expanding her performance styles and capabilities. On Friday, Ziggy released “Sleep Drink Die” following her headlining performance at USC SPARK!.

Ziggy’s sound reflects her versatility in adapting stylistic choices of classic rock legends such as Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, Joan Jett and particularly the album “The Battle at Garden’s Gate” by Greta Van Fleet as significant influences. As Ziggy performs a modern rock sound, she’s worked her lyrics and musical styles into encompassing a sound that embraces her southern rock roots and pop tendencies.

“[‘The Battle at Garden’s Gate’] was so musically evolved that it made me want to push my musicianship really far, not just in production and arrangement, but also in the actual structure of the music itself, which, as someone who started as a lyricist, was definitely pushing myself farther to become better on my instrument,” Ziggy said.

Ziggy’s music career began when her family relocated to Los Angeles in 2019, kicking off a new phase of creativity as she became dedicated to developing her career. As Ziggy began establishing her artistry, the singer-songwriter explored her genre diversity and developed her lyric-forward songs into fully produced pieces.

“I started producing music around 2020, and that defined my sound for a while,” Ziggy said. “It had an electronic pop rock vibe, and so I think that taught me a lot about just the production process and the elements of arranging music and what really worked on stage.”

As her family adjusted to life in L.A. and her career developed, Ziggy and her mother studied at the Musicians Institute, with her mother on a music industry track and Ziggy in an independent artist program to develop marketing, recording and songwriting skills.

Over the years of developing as a L.A.-based artist, Ziggy has performed at venues across Southern California such as Whisky a Go Go, Viper Room, House of Blues and The Doll Hut. Ziggy also spent time performing in London venues like The Good Mixer and The Bedford. Throughout a plethora of live performances around L.A. and at USC, Ziggy has met musical partners and band members that have helped bring her classic rock dreams to life.

“With Ziggy, there’s a real attention to detail in every aspect: the performance, the music, the transitions in between, the talking pieces, the crowd engagement, everything she tries to encompass and really get down to a T, which I so appreciate as a musician backing her up,” said Samson Rabinowitz, a USC Thornton alum from 2026 and drummer for Ziggy.

Ziggy first met guitarist Chris Borell in September 2024, staking out for Möley Crüe tickets on Sunset Blvd. The two bonded over a shared love of classic rock and performance, with Borell becoming one of the first members of Ziggy’s current band lineup.

“I’ve done a bunch of shows with her at USC and elsewhere, and it’s always a blast playing with her because it’s a lot different stylistically than what I’m used to doing,” Borel said. “I’m typically a hard rock guy, but she incorporates so many other subgenres of rock, whether it’s pop rock, funk rock, or just straight up other elements.”

As Ziggy has developed her skill in performing a Southern style of rock vocally and instrumentally, she has also begun experimenting with other upbeat genres such as funk, while also embracing pop vocal styles and choreographed dance theatrics.

As an artist, Ziggy walks a line between staggeringly intense lyricism as well as vivacious vocal and instrumental force, aiming to catch audiences in moments of undivided attention and appreciation.

“From when I started writing songs, I’ve always been trying to put into words the justice that I felt was missing in my life sometimes,” Ziggy said. “I became really intent on writing anthemic songs that could make people feel empowered.”

Throughout the artist’s development as a songwriter and artist, support from her brother and fellow musician Campbell Wood propelled her journey. Following the tragic passing of Wood in July 2025, Ziggy harnessed her feelings of mourning, anger and grief and channeled them into “Sleep Drink Die,” which embodies dejection while also standing for determination.

“It’s been very cathartic,” Ziggy said. “I’ve had hard experiences that I carry with me, and now it’s made me have a lust for life to give every day my absolute best.”

With “Sleep Drink Die,” Sixx plans to record and release an album featuring the single to spread awareness of the nation’s opioid crisis and support listeners on their own healing journeys. Following the success of her headlining at USC SPARK!, Ziggy is preparing for future festival debuts and cross-genre song releases.

“What is so special about her songwriting is that there’s this overarching theme of perseverance,” Rabinowitz said. “The lyricism talks about these touchy subjects, but the mere fact that she’s on stage and performing her heart out is showing how you can get through these things.”