EPK: Zhaklina
Zhaklina is a Nashville-based Alternative Hard Rock artist blending cinematic intensity, dark pop atmosphere, metal-infused instrumentation, and raw, commanding vocals. Her music lives at the intersection of heaviness and vulnerability, pairing haunting soundscapes with emotionally charged lyrics and driving beats that explore mental health, grief, identity, faith, resilience, and the complex process of what it means to be whole.
Originally from New York, Zhaklina developed her distinctive storytelling voice through years of choir, musical theatre, competitive a cappella, poetry, and songwriting. After winning “The Audition” competition with KFEST Radio in 2015, she began pursuing music professionally, building a body of work centered around honest conversations about the human experience.
Her latest era marks a significant evolution in sound. Following her four-part 17 Reasons Why EP series, Zhaklina evolved into a heavier, darker chapter with her 2026 releases, culminating in Spine, her heaviest project to date, fusing Alternative Hard Rock with elements of metal and dark pop. Inspired by Internal Family Systems and the process of integrating the fractured parts of ourselves, Spine explores what it means to develop a backbone, reclaim identity, and come home to yourself. Songs including “Burn,” “Star Child,” and “Labyrinth” move between visceral heaviness and emotional intimacy, while her faith informs the project through themes of surrender, redemption, and finding God in the places we least expect Him.
Zhaklina’s artistry extends far beyond the recording studio. In the summer of 2026, she organized, produced, and performed her debut tour, Holding Space; personally developing the tour concept, routing, artist lineup, venues, promotion, and show experience around her mission of creating meaningful spaces through music. The tour brought her mental-health-centered artistry directly to audiences across multiple cities, combining live performance with community, vulnerability, and connection.
That same intentionality carries into every part of her brand. Zhaklina is deeply involved in the creative direction of her music videos, visual identity, merchandise, photography, social media, and storytelling. Rather than treating these elements as separate promotional tools, she uses them to build a cohesive world around each release, where the visuals, lyrics, sound, and message all reinforce one another. Her platform has become an extension of the music itself: a place where she openly explores mental health, faith, identity, healing, and the questions that exist beneath the surface of everyday life.
Her music is inseparable from her commitment to mental health advocacy. In 2022, she founded Mental Health Songwriter Nights, a Nashville event series that brings artists and audiences together through vulnerable songwriting while raising funds for mental health organizations and causes. She also co-produced and performed at Stay;Fest, a Nashville mental health festival created to unite music, community, and suicide prevention.
Through her music, touring, events, visual storytelling, and advocacy, Zhaklina has built an artistic identity rooted in one central idea: there is healing in spaces where people can be honest about what they carry.
Her music doesn’t ask listeners to have everything figured out. It invites them into the tension; the darkness, the light, the questions, the fire, the faith, and ultimately, the process of becoming whole.
Zhaklina doesn’t just write songs, she builds worlds around them, creates space for difficult conversations, and turns vulnerability into something powerful.
#LiveLoved
“SPINE” EP
Click To Listen on Spotify [Albums Below]
Muse on Spotify
“Zhaklina is a creative artist and storyteller all in one adoring package. ”
“The resonant sound of her vocals graces the speakers as they give you goosebumps while we dive deeper into the manner she showcases her wide vocal range accompanied by heartfelt lyrics.”
CONTACT: Zhaklina.booking@gmail.com
“Zhaklina” Highlight Stay;Fest Performance Reel
“Using the Power of Music to Help Those Struggling.”
Awards, Achievements, and More
May 2015- Won KFEST, “The Audition” Singing Competition.
June 2015- Performed at KFEST at Dutchess Stadium in NY. Opened for Charli XCX, Walk The Moon, Katy Tiz, Andy Grammar, Robin Thicke, & more.
January 2019- Released first EP of “17 Reasons Why” series- dedicated to mental health advocacy and suicide prevention.
August 2019- Featured & co-wrote on a collaborative project for, “Pieces” by Whiteout with over 3k in views on YouTube.
April 2020- Released “Gossip Queen”, Zhaklina’s most popular track with almost 60,000 streams on Spotify alone. Her official “Gossip Queen” music video shortly followed with 7.2k+ streams on YouTube.
January 2022- With over 18,000 streams on Spotify alone, released collaborative project titled “Pluto” featuring and co-written with artist Meg Rilley.
March 2022- Launched Mental Health Songwriter Nights in Nashville, TN.
July 2022- Opened for Matt Warren (songwriter on “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain), Casey Beathard (songwriter on “There was Jesus” and “Don’t Blink”), and Mo Pitney for the “Jesus In A Bar” benefit show hosted at City Winery, Nashville.
February 2023- Released “Pretend,” on all music platforms with over 34,170 streams on Spotify alone. The “Pretend” official music video shortly followed with almost 3k views on YouTube.
May 2023- At over 49,000 streams on Spotify alone, Zhaklina released “Game Over” on all music platforms with the “Game Over” official music video shortly following (at 4.3k+ views on YouTube).
May 2023- Zhaklina appeared on her first Billboard Advertisement in the heart of Downtown Nashville for her song “Game Over” featuring Hollow Wake.
September 2023- Received first SYNC placement with Rook Games for Zhaklina’s song, “Pretend”.
November 2023- Sold out a show at the lounge in City Winery (Nashville, TN) through a ticketed Mental Health Songwriter’s Night (Zhaklina’s Artist-run event series).
February 2024- Featured on Channel 5 News for a Mental Health Songwriter’s Night Event.
April 2024- Released the fourth and final EP in the “17 Reasons Why” EP Series with the project gaining nearly 100,000 streams on Spotify alone.
July 2024- Launched her IFS (Internal Family System) Series with the release of “Age of Reason”.
February 2025- Released “Muse,” the second song in Zhaklina’s IFS series gaining popularity quickly through her “copy-cat” visualizer series for the song.
April 2025- Opened for Spoken in Columbia, TN.
April 2025- Debut Actress Role in American Idol Winner, Noah Thompson’s, Music Video for “American Dream”. Zhaklina played the emotional role of a struggling addict in a dysfunctional family, struggling to find work after college.
June 2025- Nominated for 3 Josie Music Awards (Artist of The Year (Rock/Alternative), Vocalist of the Year (Multi-Genre), and Rock EP of the Year for “17 Reasons Why IV”.
September 2025- Interviewed on WNXP Radio Station for Stay;Fest Event Involvement.
September 2025- Interviewed on Channel 5 Nashville News for co-producing Stay;Fest, the first Mental Health Festival in Nashville.
September 2025- Co-produced and performed at the first Mental Health Festival in Nashville, TN: “Stay;Fest”.
February 2026- Performed at the “Women In Rock” showcase in Nashville (at The End), nearly selling out the venue at the show!
March 2026- Released her single “Labyrinth” featuring Anastasia Elliot
May 2026- Released her single “Out of My Head”
July 2026- Produced, organized, managed and performed at her first “Holding Space” Tour- a tour she put on through her Mental Health Songwriter Nights series. She toured through Indiana, Ohio, and Maryland. She fundraised over $600 for various mental health organizations on this tour.
July 2026- During her mental health songwriter’s tour, she added a Nashville, TN full band show date opening for metal band, DAKØTA, at The Cobra.
August 2026- Released her most Internal Family Systems themed EP, “Spine.”
Additional Noteworthy Credit- Zhaklina self produces and directs/co-directs most of her music videos, visualizers and visual art. She is involved with every detail of both her music and visual art, down to sewing her own butterfly wings for the “Game Over” music video (a 15 hour project alone (out of 4 months of preparation, planning, shooting, and editing with her team)) and designing her own costumes for her roles in videos and performances. She has featured on countless podcasts, radio stations, news channels, magazines, articles and more. Fun Fact: Zhaklina makes all of her artist merchandise in-house, with her DIY tie dyed t-shirts and “Live Loved” holographic stickers being a hit!
“As an advocate of mental health awareness, her music offers a personal and inquisitive look at emotions, as well as the aspects of life that impact us negatively. Yet, her music is as empowering as it is vulnerable. This is illustrated wonderfully in her brand new single ‘Gossip Queen’, featuring and co-written by musician Bobby Spencer.
‘Gossip Queen’ is a heartfelt track about facing the inner demons that challenge our very identity. ”
PRESS
MEDIUM INTERVIEW
BUZZMUSIC INTERVIEW
MORE THAN A PRETTY FACE PODCAST INTERVIEW
Interview with The Youngblood Squared Podcast (Bringing Christianity into Mental Health)
LONEWOLF PODCAST INTERVIEW
FROM SOPHIA WITH LOVE INTERVIEW
LIVE LOVED