Shemekia Copeland

Bio written by Marc Lipkin

“Shemekia Copeland is the greatest blues singer of her generation.” –The Washington Post

“Shemekia Copeland has established herself as one of the leading blues artists of our time. Profound and truly powerful...inviting you to think and to party.” –NPR Music

“Shemekia Copeland gets her message across loud and clear. She transcends with a mix of styles including gospel, rock, blues, soul, and Americana, proudly representing her generation with style and grace in a voice too strong to be ignored.” –No Depression

Shemekia Copeland possesses one of the most instantly recognizable and deeply soulful roots music voices of our time. The multi-GRAMMY nominee is beloved and honored worldwide for the fearlessness, honesty and humor of her revelatory songs, as well as for her winning, engaging personality. The Chicago Tribune says, “Copeland is the greatest female blues vocalist working today. There’s no mistaking the majesty of her instrument, nor the ferocity of her delivery.” 

On Copeland’s new album, Blame It On Eve, the songs all hit hard, with jaw-dropping performances that instantly take hold and command repeated listening. “There’s serious business on the new album,” Copeland says, “but there are a lot of smiles here too, a lot of joyous moments. It’s my blues for sure but it’s the brighter side. Issues are always important to me, but so is rocking, dancing and just having fun. And that’s something we all can all agree on.”

Blame It On Eve was recorded in Nashville and produced by instrumentalist/songwriter Will Kimbrough (who also produced her previous three albums). It features 12 new songs that tackle subjects as important as a woman’s right to choose and climate change, but also leaves space for Copeland to have fun and unwind. From the autobiographical, rocking blues boogie Tough Mother to the anthemic title track’s good-humored but serious focus on reproductive self-determination to the happy hour of Wine O’Clock, Copeland is inspired throughout.

Famed multi-instrumentalist Jerry Douglas adds his dobro to the fascinating, true story of Tee Tot  Payne, the obscure early 20th century Alabama musician who taught Hank Williams the blues, and sacred steel player DaShawn Hickman brings his magic to the feisty and uplifting Tell The Devil.  Shemekia’s friend, roots-rocker Alejandro Escovedo, joins in on the anguished, celestial query Is There Anybody Up There?. On the sad lover’s tale Belle Sorciere, Copeland sings the chorus in French, with the haunting melody composed by Pascal Danae of the Paris-based band Delgres (who were recently featured on the cover of Rolling Stone France). Copeland’s blistering, deep blues delivery of Down On Bended Knee—by her late father, the great bluesman Johnny Copeland—sets up the thought-provoking closer Heaven Help Us All, a song originally made famous first by Stevie Wonder and later by Ray Charles. Taken as a whole, the passionate, charismatic, joyous and at times confrontational Blame It On Eve is bound to become among the most celebrated releases of Copeland’s impressive, still-unfolding career.

Born and raised in Harlem in 1979, Shemekia Copeland first stepped on stage with her famous father at New York’s Cotton Club when she was eight. Upon release of her Alligator Records debut Turn The Heat Up in 1998 when she was only 18, Copeland instantly became a blues and R&B force to be reckoned with. The New York Times and CNN, among many others, praised her talent, larger-than-life personality, dynamic, authoritative voice and true star power. With each subsequent release, Copeland’s music continued to evolve. From her debut through 2005’s The Soul Truth, Shemekia earned eight Blues Music Awards and a host of Living Blues Awards. 2000’s Wicked received the first of her five GRAMMY nominations. After two successful releases on Telarc (including 2012’s GRAMMY-nominated 33 1/3), Copeland returned to Alligator Records in 2015 with the GRAMMY-nominated, Blues Music Award-winning Outskirts Of Love, melding blues with more rootsy, Americana sounds.

With 2018’s America’s Child, Copeland brought out the first of her celebrated trilogy of albums concerning the state of the world, sung from her perspective as a young, Black woman and new mother. MOJO magazine named America’s Child the #1 blues release of 2018. It won both the Blues Music Award and the Living Blues Award for Album Of The Year.  In addition to earning a GRAMMY Award nomination, Copeland’s groundbreaking 2020 follow-up, Uncivil War, was named the 2020 Blues Album Of The Year by DownBeat, MOJO and Living Blues magazines. “Shemekia Copeland is a powerhouse,” said Rolling Stone. “She can do no wrong.” She received her fifth GRAMMY nomination for Done Come Too Far, which closed the trilogy with a searing set of truth-to-power, rock and Hill Country blues-fueled songs. “Shemekia Copeland is an antidote to artifice,” said The Philadelphia Inquirer. “She is a commanding presence, a powerhouse vocalist delivering the truth.”

Copeland has performed thousands of gigs at clubs, festivals and concert halls all over the world, and has appeared in films, on national television, NPR, and has been the subject of major feature stories in hundreds of magazines, newspapers and internet publications. She’s sung with Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, Carlos Santana, Dr. John, James Cotton and many others, and has shared a bill with The Rolling Stones. She entertained U.S. troops in Iraq and Kuwait in 2008, a trip she says, “that opened my eyes to the larger world around me and my place in it.” In 2012, she performed with B.B. King, Mick Jagger, Buddy Guy, Trombone Shorty, Gary Clark, Jr. and others at the White House for President and Mrs. Obama. She has showcased on PBS’s Austin City Limits, was featured in a six-minute story on the PBS News Hour and was the subject of a major Washington Post Sunday magazine piece. In April 2022, she performed at the United Nations General Assembly Hall to a worldwide audience of millions as part of International Jazz Day celebrations. In 2023, Copeland guested on the GRAMMY Award-winning compilation album, Basie Swings The Blues, on the Candid label. She continues to receive regular radio airplay on stations all over the globe. Additionally, Copeland hosts her own popular daily blues radio show on SiriusXM’s Bluesville.

Forbes declared, “Shemekia is fearless, honest and hopeful...she holds back nothing as she delivers hard-hitting musical truths.” The late John Prine paid her a huge compliment when he said, “She simply doesn’t sound like anybody else.” And none other than Copeland’s friend, the legendary Mavis Staples, announced, “I am so happy Shemekia is delivering these songs that the world needs to hear. Her voice is strong and soulful, and her message comes from her heart.”

With Blame It On Eve, Copeland embarks on what she calls “a vacation from all the heaviness.” Blame It On Eve contains plenty of Copeland’s trademark bold and courageous songs, but here Copeland is also looking to unplug from the weight of world. “My last three records have dealt with breaking news,” she says. “This record is for people like me who want a break from the news.”

Erin McCawley’s Harrison Street Band

Singing, songwriting, sass-bringing Erin McCawley and her Harrison Street Band know how to entertain and energize the crowd with blues styles from Chicago to Louisiana and everything in between. Erin sings with the confidence and soul as if each song was the story she was born to tell and with a voice that seem to rise up from the soles of her feet. Her genuine sense of personal freedom empowers her audience and draws them in to each performance; then with clever lyrics, radiant joy, and raw emotion, she holds them there. She is backed by an incredible band of talented musicians: Tony Houle on Guitar, Robb Stearns on bass, and Bill Whelan on drums. They are often joined by Joey Gagliardi on harmonica, and Paul Wigen on keys. Together, they have released a third album of original music; “Live at A440.” Listen, and you may hear the blues, but you won’t leave with ‘em!”

DREW PETERSON

Drew Peterson is an independent Americana singer-songwriter who has captivated fans across the Midwest for over 20 years. Since fronting the Minnesota-based group Forty Watt Bulb, Peterson has spawned two other successful Roots projects; the twangy, upbeat Dead Pigeons and bluegrass-influenced Boxstore Bird.

Peterson comes from a long line of musically inept Norwegian Farmers (unless you count Grandpa Pops, the town drunk, who played the harmonica and the concertina for booze).Peterson was not born with musical talent. Mom bought him a guitar at a church rummage sale for five dollars and it was then he decided he wanted to become a musician. Growing up on a farm in rural Minnesota, he tackled this endeavor the way he had been taught - hard work and lots of practice. And practice is what he’s been doing for 20 years. His passion has always been crafting lyrics and songwriting. 

Peterson has built a unique brand that transcends the genre. With clever, dry humor and thought- provoking lyrics, Peterson’s music is like oil over gravel. Drawing on influences from John Prine, Tom Waits, Cat Stevens, Van Morrison, among others, Peterson offers the world upbeat tunes with a soft- spoken gravitas that belies his years. 

With a performance style that can transform from intimate listening room to rowdy festivals and bars, Peterson always gives his heart and soul to the stage. And with each new performance, he works to connect with the audience through storytelling.

South Farwell

One listen through South Farwell’s exemplary album Tear Everything Down demonstrates why the band is difficult to categorize. Delivering elements of Blues, soul, country, and Southern rock, intertwining solid musicianship with sincerely-written lyrics, the band is a singular entity in a world of imitators. Although their music defies comparison, it speaks eloquently for itself.

Interviewing the members of the closely-knit group is an often hilarious undertaking akin to herding kittens.“That's it! ‘South Farwell, cute as kittens,’” quipped Bill Boles (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), when asked how he’d describe the group.

Boles (formerly of Easychair; lead vocals, acoustic guitar) and Cory Dahl (formerly of MOJO, Day Old Bread, and CrossRoads Blues Band with Sue Orfield; drums) are more likely to crack jokes and toss jovial banter back and forth than to discuss themselves. That authentic humility, and Boles’s purposeful, heartfelt songwriting, define the substance of the band.

Citing the emotional connection between the members, Dahl says, “As a band, we never play more than a half dozen shows a year. Right now this works for us. It keeps us eager; every show is a big deal to us. We are all great friends and have a deep appreciation for one another, which we hope shows when people come out to listen to us.” He spoke of newest member Ethan Schmidt (bass/vocals) as not just a long-time friend, but as family.

According to Dahl, “It’s our variety of perspectives that truly creates our vibe and sound. In the ten-plus years that we’ve been a band, there has never been a point where we’ve all lived in the same city. This long-distance relationship in music-making has allowed us to be more spontaneous and to live in the moment. It just so happens that the Blues welcomes this approach, and I guess that is where we find ourselves fitting in the Blues genre and community.”

Dahl continues, “Our influences are diverse. Freddy King, Allman Brothers, Black Crowes, Jason Isbell, Dawes, Ray Lamontagne, and many other folk, Blues, jazz, and singer/songwriters have helped shape our sound.”

Rounding out the band are brothers Tim Coughlin (formerly with noted country star Chase Rice; lead guitar, vocals) and Joe Coughlin (saxophone, auxiliary percussion).

“Over time our mission evolved to simply have a great time being together, being creative, and playing music that we love. The Blues community has been a supportive group, welcoming us at festivals and concert series such as Tuesday Night Blues, even though we don’t completely fit the mold of what most would identify as ‘a Blues band,’” says Dahl

Original. Genuine. Distinctive… just a few of the words we’d use to describe South Farwell, because they’re too focused on the joy of making music - and joking with each other - to talk about themselves.

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