Shemekia Copeland

“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 and 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 twentieth-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.

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 the 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. America’s Child was named the number one blues release of 2018 by MOJO magazine and 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.

“She can do no wrong,” said Rolling Stone. 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 in major publications. She has 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, performed at the White House in 2012, appeared on PBS’s Austin City Limits, and performed at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in 2022 as part of International Jazz Day.

Forbes declared, “Shemekia is fearless, honest, and hopeful. She holds back nothing as she delivers hard-hitting musical truths.” With Blame It On Eve, Copeland embarks on what she calls “a vacation from all the heaviness.” “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.”

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