Zoey Noble: The Next Act

From Motown memories to disco dreams, the Lancaster, PA singer-songwriter is looking for a new sound —
and a whole new look.

If Zoey Noble's debut album, Feel this Way, was about discovering what she could do musically, her next record seems increasingly concerned with discovering exactly who she wants to become.

And the answer might involve bell-bottoms.

Big ones.

Noble has been thinking a lot about presentation lately — not just the songs, but the entire experience surrounding them. The visuals, the clothes, the packaging, the personality. The way an artist can create a world that listeners want to step into.

For her next album, that world might look something like the late 1970s wandering into a modern pop concert.

"I definitely want it to feel more disco-y," she explains, quickly clarifying that she's talking more about the imagery than necessarily the sound itself.

It's an important distinction.

Musically, Noble actually intends to pull things back.

Her first record was built with an enthusiastic anything-goes approach to arrangements. If another instrumental flourish sounded good, why not keep it? Another guitar fill? Sure. Something interesting happening in the background? Leave it in.

That freedom helped define Feel this way, but she's becoming more selective about what a song really needs.

"I'm trying this time to kind of strip it back," she says.

It's a natural progression for a young artist beginning to recognize that restraint can be just as powerful as virtuosity.

Old Souls, New Tricks

Noble's band is an interesting musical laboratory.

Working alongside musicians old enough to be her parents — and, in one case, literally her father — gives her access to perspectives not always available to someone in their early twenties.

She appreciates their experience, even when their tastes don't completely align.

Sometimes, she admits, the older musicians slip into familiar complaints about contemporary music.

But Noble isn't interested in dismissing today's pop landscape.

Quite the opposite.

She's drawn to artists who understand how to make commercial music without sanding away every rough edge.

One performer currently catching her attention is Slater, whose dance-oriented pop and gritty vocal delivery remind Noble of an unlikely combination: early Lady Gaga and Courtney Love.

"It's the way she sings," Noble explains. "She almost carries herself like Courtney Love."

That contrast fascinates her. A voice that could easily front a rock band instead inhabiting glossy, danceable pop songs.

"It's cool to have that juxtaposition," she says. "It almost doesn't work, but it just settles in just right."

Noble also counts Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter among the contemporary performers she enjoys, particularly for the way their music and presentation draw upon earlier pop eras.

Roan's theatrical makeup, elaborate costumes, and unapologetically oversized performance style hold particular appeal.

"I just want to be painted up and put in nice little outfits," Noble says.

There's something refreshing about an artist willing to admit that sometimes the clothes, the makeup, and the spectacle are part of the fun.

After all, rock and pop history are filled with musicians who understood that the image could be nearly as compelling as the music.

For Noble, it isn't about abandoning the musical identity she's already established. It's about expanding the possibilities.

Keeping It in the Family

For all her growing interest in musical reinvention, one creative relationship remains especially important: the one she shares with her father.

Their collaboration extends well beyond rehearsals and live performances. He's also involved in producing her music, and the two regularly exchange creative ideas.

Noble generally writes her own lyrics, although the songwriting process can become collaborative when the right opportunity presents itself.

One of the songs being prepared for the next album, "Way of the World," has an especially personal history.

Her father wrote it years ago for himself, with no particular intention of turning it into a Zoey Noble song.

Then one day, she heard him playing it.

"I was like, 'This is really cool. Can we do that?'"

She adapted parts of the song to fit her own perspective while preserving its central message: the world can be a difficult, confusing place, but people have a way of pushing forward.

It's a sentiment that feels particularly appropriate for a collaboration bridging two generations.

No matter how old you are, or what decade provided the soundtrack to your youth, there's always something troubling happening in the world.

And there's always a reason to keep moving.

For Noble, the song reflects the value of working with people whose experiences differ from her own.

The older musicians provide history, technique, and perspective. She contributes a younger viewpoint and a willingness to embrace musical ideas they might not necessarily seek out themselves.

Somewhere in the middle, the band finds its sound.

And the Award Goes To...

Of course, it's one thing to believe you're moving in the right direction. It's another to have an awards ceremony suggest that other people might agree.

Noble's 2026 Central Pennsylvania Music Award for Best New Artist provided exactly that kind of encouragement.

The evening, she recalls, was considerably more glamorous than her typical musical outing.

There was a hair appointment. There was makeup. There was a level of dressing up that felt almost like playing a different character.

And there was suspense.

Noble had been nominated in two categories, one presented early in the ceremony and the other near the end.

She lost the first.

Which meant spending much of the evening wondering whether she'd be going home empty-handed.

When the final award arrived, however, her name was called.

Suddenly, all those years of open mics, trial-and-error bands, recording sessions, and uncertain musical experiments seemed to have led somewhere tangible.

She had even prepared an acceptance speech, carefully writing down the people she wanted to thank.

Then she got to the microphone.

And whatever was on the paper apparently became optional.

It's the kind of story that tells you something about Noble's personality. She takes her music seriously, but she hasn't lost the ability to laugh at herself.

She also seems remarkably comfortable acknowledging how much she still has to learn.

The Sophomore Question

For now, the next album remains a work in progress.

Noble had originally hoped to have new material ready sooner. Recording has taken longer than anticipated, and coordinating musicians hasn't always been easy.

Her drummer, Mark Fry, has dealt with health issues that sometimes complicate performances and scheduling, occasionally requiring a substitute behind the kit.

Such practical realities aren't particularly glamorous, but they're part of life for independent musicians trying to balance creative ambition with the circumstances of everyday existence.

Still, Noble is eager to get something new into listeners' hands.

"I really want to have new things to give to people," she says.

She laughs at the frustration of discussing an album released more than a year earlier when she'd rather be talking about something fresh.

Not because she no longer believes in Feel the Swim.

Quite the opposite.

She simply knows there's more music waiting to be heard.

Her current hope is to release the second album in the early part of 2027, ideally no later than April, although no firm date has been established.

The title, artwork, and complete visual direction are also still being developed.

But even without those details, Noble seems to have a fairly good idea of what she's chasing.

A little less clutter in the arrangements.

A little more personality in the presentation.

A stronger connection between the songs and the artist standing in front of the microphone.

And perhaps a pair of spectacular bell-bottoms.

For someone who entered the Lancaster music scene at 16, uncertain of what she was doing but delighted to be doing it, the evolution makes sense.

Zoey Noble has already figured out how to make a record.

Now she's figuring out how to make an identity entirely her own.

And that's where things start getting interesting.