Orlando musician Renee Arozqueta releases new album with Ladybits, 'Little Dreams'

I first encountered Orlando’s Renee Arozqueta back in 2015 when she was performing at Ethos solo as Renee Is a Zombie. Sure, she was the picture of a quirky folkie playing in a vegan joint. But she was also something else altogether, something utterly individual.

Since then, she’s become a prominent character in the city’s scene, most notably as one of the most visible members of Beth McKee’s Swamp Sistas. Over the years, the outsider spark that I saw in her has become an established calling card that often makes her the weirdest one in the room.

Recently, Arozqueta has been playing out with band project The Ladybits, who just released their debut album, Little Dreams. Although a trio where she’s backed by Mike Adkins and Kevin Meehan, The Ladybits are true to their name as a vehicle for both Arozqueta’s songwriting and her resolutely femme-forward perspective. As she puts it, “Our songs are about the bits and experiences of being a lady, or person, or you know, being alive.” The order in which that came out isn’t accidental.

Across the album’s eight songs, The Ladybits reveal a stylistically irreverent sound that spikes folk music with a little punk vim and a wild, unchained heart. It’s a free-spirited ramble that ventures into different genres but never quite conforms to any of them, a trait that essentially nutshells Arozqueta herself.

Released on Orlando label Sugar City Music, Little Dreams now streams everywhere, including atop TLU's Spotify playlist. The release will power The Ladybits’ upcoming tour that kicks off at home this week with appearances on WPRK with Frankie Messina (April 4) and at the Audubon Park Community Market (April 8).


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