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Governors State University (GSU) Center for Performing Arts (the Center) will celebrate Chicago blues and Chicago-based Alligator Records’ 50^th anniversary by presenting an online streaming video concert starring four of the label’s most popular artists. “Sweet Home Chicago – An Online Blues Celebration” will feature a performance by legendary harmonica player Billy Branch with his all-star band, The Sons Of Blues, with three special guests -- Grammy-nominated vocalist Shemekia Copeland, slide guitar master Lil’ Ed Williams and beloved Chicago blues guitarist and songwriter Toronzo Cannon. Alligator Records founder and president Bruce Iglauer will serve as emcee.

The once-in-a-lifetime event will be recorded on the Center's stage to its empty 1171 seat house. This concert is part of the Center's 25th anniversary celebration. The show will debut as a ticketed streaming event at 7:00PM Central time on March 13, 2021, and will be available to watch on demand through April 11. The event will stream on the Center’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/GSUCenter.

For tickets and more information, click here.

Rolling Stone says, “Prestigious, scrappy independent blues label Alligator Records has reached dizzying heights in celebrating the blues.” Alligator Records, founded in 1971 by Bruce Iglauer, is home to some of the world’s foremost blues and roots rock talent and is regarded by fans and the media alike as the top contemporary blues record label in the world. From classic Windy City artists like Hound Dog Taylor and “Queen Of The Blues” Koko Taylor, to next generation legends Lil’ Ed Williams and Billy Branch to contemporary stars including Toronzo Cannon and Shemekia Copeland, Alligator’s discography reads like a who’s who in modern blues history. Legendary artists including Lonnie Brooks, Luther Allison, Johnny Winter, Albert Collins, James Cotton, Rick Estrin, Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, Michael “Iron Man& rdquo; Burks, The Holmes Brothers, Mavis Staples, Marcia Ball and rising stars Selwyn Birchwood and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram are just some of the blues immortals who have recorded groundbreaking music for the label. Now, at 50 years old, Alligator is still committed to discovering great new talent, proving that the passion, soul and redemptive power of blues and roots music is alive and well.

Blues giant Billy Branch is hailed internationally as one of today’s greatest harmonica players. The New York Times says, “Branch has a warm, open vocal style and a full command of the blues harp, from wailing notes to chugging rhythms.” With his inventive, deeply rooted playing and gritty, soulful vocals, Branch carries on the Chicago blues tradition that he learned first-hand from icons including Big Walter Horton, James Cotton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell, Willie Dixon and many others. With his instantly recognizable sound and his band, The Sons of Blues, Branch has traveled the world, delivering his signature brand of Chicago blues for over four decades.Branch’s latest album is 2019’s Roots & Branches: The Songs of Little Walter. The album finds Branch and his band boldly reimagining the renowned songs of Little Walter Jacobs. Jacobs was one of the principal architects of the Chicago blues sound and one of the most influential blues harmonica players who ever lived. Living Blues says, “Billy Branch has cemented his place among the kings. Chugging, incessant blues and R&B...greasy, funky, howlin’ harp attack that really burns. Wonderful, bold and surprising." This concert marks Branch's third appearance at the Center.

When Shemekia Copeland first broke on the scene with her groundbreaking Alligator Records debut CD Turn the Heat Up in 1998, she instantly became a blues and R&B force to be reckoned with. The Chicago Tribune says, “Shemekia Copeland is the greatest female blues singer working today.” News outlets from The New York Times to CNN have praised Copeland’s talent, larger-than-life personality, dynamic, authoritative voice and true star power. Shemekia has earned three Grammy Award nominations, 12 Blues Music Awards and a host of Living Blues Awards, including being named the 2020 Female Blues Artist of the Year. With her recent albums, Shemekia broadened her musical vision, melding blues with more rootsy, Americana sounds. Her new album, the soulful and uncompromising Uncivil War, tackles the pr oblems of contemporary American life head on, with nuance, understanding, and a demand for change. It also brings Copeland’s fierce, sultry R&B fire to songs more personal than political. NPR’s All Things Considered says, “Copeland embodies the blues with her powerful vocal chops and fearless look at social issues.” No Depression declares, “Copeland pierces your soul. This is how you do it, and nobody does it better than Shemekia Copeland.”

Slide guitar-playing blues master Lil’ Ed Williams, leader of Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, comes to the blues naturally. His uncle, Chicago slide guitar king and master songwriter J.B. Hutto, taught him how to feel, not just play the blues. Living Blues says, "Lil’ Ed playsrough and ready blues with unmitigated intensity…swirling, snarling, riveting slide…scorching and soulful, joyous and stomping." With nine albums and thousands of performances under his belt, Lil’ Ed is now universally hailed as a giant of the genre. The Associated Press says, “Williams fills Chicago’s biggest shoes with more life and heat than anyone on stage today.”With his latest album, 2016’s The Big Sound Of Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Lil’ Ed continues to bring his blistering Chi cago blues to fans new and old. His infectious energy, joyful showmanship and masterful playing have been honed to a razor’s edge. The Chicago Tribune says, “Electrifying, raucous, pure Chicago blues….Lil’ Ed is a guitarist extraordinaire…slashing slide and flamboyant stage persona."

Upon release of his Alligator Records debut, The Chicago Way in 2016, Toronzo Cannon burst onto the international stage as one of the most electrifying bluesmen to emerge from Chicago in decades. The Chicago Reader said, “Bluesman Toronzo Cannon is one of Chicago’s finest string-bending storytellers.” He has played major cities all over the U.S., Canada, and Europe, including stops in the UK, Germany, Spain, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Poland and Japan, delighting and surprising audiences with one unforgettable gig after another. He has played the Chicago Blues Festival on ten separate occasions. UK tastemaker music magazine MOJO named his latest album, 2019’s The Preacher, The Politician Or The Pimp, the #2 Best Blues Album Of 2019. Chicago’s Newcity and Reader both named Cannon among the city’s greatest musicians. Blues Music Magazine says, “Cannon has all the fire and spontaneity of the Chicago legends. His songwriting is a timely and original look at the world, and his assertive voice is the perfect vehicle to deliver the message.”

Throughout its 25-year history, many blues artists have graced the Center for Performing Arts’ stage: Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Eddie Clearwater, Jimmy Burn, Eddie Shaw, Zora Young, Demetria Taylor, Jamiah Rogers, Tail Dragger, Billy Branch, Howard Levy, Sugar Blue, Corky Sigel, Melody Angel, Lurrie Bell, Chicago Ladies Sing the Blues collective, and more.

The seed of “Sweet Home Chicago – An Online Blues Celebration” sprouted pre-COVID at an Andersonville diner in Chicago, when the Center’s Director Lana Rogachevskaya and Iglauer explored how to celebrate their upcoming institutional birthdays and share their passion for the blues with a larger Chicago community. This conversation reemerged in 2020 with an additional goal of employing Chicago artists, while serving blues fans from all over the globe.

Rogachevskaya says, “Blues is a feeling. A musical genre with origins in American slavery and Jim Crow, its continued popularity is in its universal appeal. Communally held and lived through, blues uplifts, nourishes, and sustains the human soul.  Sweet Home Chicago Blues participants will feel the healing power of blues sounds and stories while being together.”

According to Iglauer, "Chicago Blues is the famous musical signature of the city. This exhilarating music -- music that grew up on the city’s South and West Sides -- has become Chicago’s most vibrant and honored cultural export, reaching a worldwide audience. This concert will be a celebration of the city’s heritage, featuring some of the most talented and exciting blues artists in the world."

"Curtis Salgado’s range and power as a vocalist are a tour-de-force...hard-nosed blues, beautifully nuanced R&B, phat and funky" –Billboard

"Salgado inspires chills. Upbeat and original…poignant and wise with a great sense of humor" –Blues Music Magazine

"Glorious and memorable…Salgado’s voice is center stage just as it should be. Highly recommended" –Blues & Rhythm UK

"Salgado’s vocals are soulful beauty. Fresh, unexpected, authentic, percolating…perfectly executed…simply delicious" –Living Blues

Award-winning vocalist, instrumentalist and songwriter Curtis Salgado, the man NPR calls “an icon” with “a huge voice,” will release his new Alligator Records album, Damage Control, on Friday, February 26, 2021. Produced by Salgado, Damage Control is his first full band album in four years, and it’s packed with passionate, insightful, original songs.

With over 40 years of recording, performing, touring and songwriting under his belt, Salgado is revered worldwide for his ability to wring every ounce of soul out of every song he performs. He is famed not only for his powerhouse live shows and ten previous albums, but also for his songwriting. In 2018 he won the Blues Music Award for Song Of The Year for Walk A Mile In My Blues from The Beautiful Lowdown. In total, he has won nine Blues Music Awards, including the B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year. DownBeat calls his songwriting skills “an impressive gift.” Billboard says Salgado’s music is “inspired and powerful.”

With Damage Control, Salgado has created what he calls “a rock ’n’ roll record with lyrics that hit.” The album was produced by Salgado and recorded in studios in Tennessee and California with three different groups of world-class, road-tested blues and roots musicians. The 13 songs—12 originals and a raucous cover of Larry Williams’ Slow Down (famously covered by The Beatles)—will surprise and delight longtime Salgado fans. Salgado has crafted a soul-searching, street-smart collection of vividly detailed, instantly memorable songs. Salgado’s vocals weave, bob and soar, at times jabbing with nuance, and then striking with unlimited power. Of the title track, he says, “Life is all about damage control...trouble and then some. It’s about dealing with what gets thrown at you and saying, ‘I ain’t finished yet.’”

The album's defiant opening song, The Longer That I Live, was originally released as a digital-only single in June 2020. Listen to the song and watch Salgado's captivating music video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikRzUBWoUIY

Born in Eugene, Oregon, Salgado found his calling early on. By his 20s he was already making a name for himself in Eugene’s bar scene with his band The Nighthawks, and later as co-leader of The Robert Cray Band, where he found himself sharing stages with many of his heroes, including Muddy Waters, Bobby Bland, Albert Collins and Bonnie Raitt. After Salgado and Cray parted ways in 1982, Curtis fronted Roomful Of Blues, singing and touring with them from 1984 through 1986. In 1995 he spent the summer touring as vocalist for Santana. He released the first of his 11 solo albums in 1991.

Salgado’s Alligator Records debut, Soul Shot, was released in 2012 to widespread critical acclaim. Blues Revue said Salgado’s music is “triumphant, joyful, blues-soaked R&B” and declared him to be “one of the most soulful, honest singers ever.” He followed up withThe Beautiful Lowdown in 2016 andRough Cut, the stripped-down acoustic album (with guitarist Alan Hager) in 2018.

Salgado has performed at Portland’s Waterfront Blues Festival, The Chicago Blues Festival, The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, The San Francisco Blues Festival, Memphis’ Beale Street Music Festival, Denver’s Mile High Blues Festival as well as on The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. Internationally he’s toured in Saipan, Guam, Canada, England, throughout Europe, Brazil, Chile, Panama, The Philippines, Thailand, and Hong Kong. According to Blues Revue, Salgado’s performances “start at excellent before segueing into goose bumps, ecstasy, and finally nirvana.

Salgado has always lived life to the fullest, but he's also faced adversity, overcoming multiple health challenges. Both of these things inform Damage Control. He battled back from liver cancer in 2006 and lung cancer in 2008 and 2012. In March 2017 he underwent quadruple bypass surgery. He’s not only come back stronger each time, he’s also become a prolific songwriter, going from writing a few songs per album to writing or co-writing full albums of original songs.

“You can dance to them," Salgado says of his songs, "but the words have to carry the weight.”

 

Uncivil War Debut Concert Marks Copeland's First Full Band Performance Since March 2020

Uncivil War is a masterful record. Finally we have the album that her voice has always deserved.
--Sound Opinions (National radio show hosted by Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis)

 Uncivil War is one of the boldest and most persuasive recordings of Copeland’s already distinguished career. Copeland’s incendiary and positively buoyant vocals [are] one of the great instruments in contemporary blues. A triumph.
--The Chicago Tribune (Howard Reich)

Multiple Grammy Award nominee Shemekia Copeland and her band will perform a live streaming video concert from New York's Jazz At Lincoln Center on Thursday, January 14 at 7:30pm Eastern time, with only a few rebroadcast times to follow. This performance is Copeland's first full band concert since March 2020, and the first time she will be performing her new songs live. DownBeat calls Copeland's new album, Uncivil War, "One of the most important blues albums of this century."

According to Copeland, “With this new album, I’m trying to put the ‘united’ back in the United States. Like many people, I miss the days when we treated each other better. For me, this country’s all about people with differences coming together to be part of something we all love. That’s what really makes America beautiful.”

Find more information on the performance here.

Suggested ticket price is $10.00. Find more information here.

The soulful and uncompromising Uncivil War tackles the problems of contemporary American life head on, with nuance, understanding, and a demand for change. It also brings Copeland’s fiercely independent, sultry R&B fire to songs more personal than political. NPR Music calls Shemekia “authoritative” and “confrontational” with “punchy defiance and potent conviction. It’s hard to imagine anyone staking a more convincing claim to the territory she’s staked out—a true hybrid of simmering, real-talking spirit and emphatic, folkie- and soul-style statement-making.”

When Shemekia Copeland first broke on the scene with her groundbreaking Alligator Records debut CD Turn the Heat Up in 1998, she instantly became a blues and R&B force to be reckoned with. The Chicago Tribune says, “Shemekia Copeland is the greatest female blues singer working today.” News outlets from The New York Times to CNN have praised Copeland’s talent, larger-than-life personality, dynamic, authoritative voice and true star power. Shemekia earned three Grammy Award nominations, 12 Blues Music Awards and a host of Living Blues Awards, including being named the 2020 Female Blues Artist of the Year. NPR’s All Things Considered says, “Copeland embodies the blues with her powerful vocal chops and fearless look at social issues.” No Depression declares, “Copeland pierces your soul. This is how you do it, and nobody does it better than Shemekia Copeland.”

 

CURTIS SALGADO DEBUTS VIDEO FOR THE LONGER THAT I LIVE
Song From Upcoming 2021 Release, Damage Control

“Salgado inspires chills. Upbeat and original…poignant and wise with a great sense of humor”
–Blues Music Magazine

Award-winning vocalist, instrumentalist and songwriter Curtis Salgado, the man NPR calls “an icon” with “a huge voice,” has debuted a new video for his original song, The Longer That I Live. The soul-searching, instantly memorable, street-smart track was written by Salgado, David Duncan and Mike Finnigan, and will be featured on his upcoming album, Damage Control, set for release in early 2021. The song was originally released as a digital-only single in June 2020.

Watch the music video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikRzUBWoUIY

Salgado is famed not only for his powerhouse live shows and ten previous albums, but also for his passionate and insightful original songs. He has been nominated three times for the Blues Music Award for Song Of The Year, winning in 2018 for Walk A Mile In My Blues from his album The Beautiful Lowdown. In total, he has won nine Blues Music Awards, including the B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year. He has toured the world multiple times, playing clubs, concert halls and festivals.

Salgado has always lived life to the fullest, but he's also faced adversity, overcoming multiple health challenges. Both of these things inform The Longer That I Live. He battled back from liver cancer in 2006 and lung cancer in 2008 and 2012. In March 2017 he underwent quadruple bypass surgery. He’s not only come back stronger each time, he’s become a prolific songwriter, going from writing a few songs per album to writing or co-writing full albums of original songs.

“You can dance to them," Salgado says of his songs, "but the words have to carry the weight.”

"A remarkable, contemporary bluesman...a powerhouse young guitarist and soulful vocalist...a major player...highly recommended" –Rolling Stone

"Rising blues star Selwyn Birchwood is the real deal. Birchwood puts his own fresh spin on the blues, taking the tradition and making it into something new." –Guitar World

"A skilled, energetic and original artist...his songwriting is observant, clever and pointed. His voice is smooth; his singing on target. His guitar fluency generates new licks and rhythmic surprises. Expectations have been high for Mr. Birchwood—and he lives up to them." –Wall Street Journal

Groundbreaking young blues visionary Selwyn Birchwood will release his highly anticipated third Alligator album, Living In A Burning House, on Friday, January 29, 2021. The rising guitar and lap steel player calls his original music “electric swamp funkin’ blues,” defined by raw and soulful musicianship played with fire-and-brimstone fervor. His gritty, unvarnished vocals draw his audience deep inside his unforgettable tales of love, passion, pain and pleasure. No other band on the current blues scene is built quite like Birchwood’s. In addition to Selwyn’s electrifying guitar and lap steel playing, the other featured instrument is Regi Oliver’s driving bariton e sax. The group is rounded out by bass, drums and, for the first time, keyboards.

Wanting to capture the power of the now larger band, Birchwood wrote and arranged 13 new songs, and brought in famed Grammy Award-winning musician Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Susan Tedeschi) to produce. From the rocking opener I’d Climb Mountains to the sweet soul of She’s A Dime and One More Time to the hair-raising Revelation, Living In A Burning House features some of the most vividly striking writing on today’s blues scene. Birchwood’s voice and vision are clear, his sound is edgy and compelling, and his stories are memorable and lasting.

The title track from Living In A Burning House was released as a single in June 2020. Click here to listen and watch the music video.

According to Birchwood, “I tell my stories in my own way, with my own voice. You won’t ever hear me on stage telling someone else's story. Muddy Waters, B.B. King and John Lee Hooker all told their own stories. That’s what I’m doing.”

Since the 2014 release of his Alligator Records debut, Don’t Call No Ambulance, Birchwood’s meteoric rise from playing small Florida clubs to headlining international festival stages is nothing short of phenomenal. The album received the Blues Music Award and Living Blues Critics’ Award for Best Debut Album Of 2014, and he won the 2015 Blues Blast Rising Star Award. Rave reviews ran in publications from Rolling Stone to The Wall Street Journal, from The Chicago Tribune to The San Francisco Chronicle. He followed in 2016 with Pick Your Poison. DownBeat said, “There’s a deep-seated power about Birchwood’s singing and six string/lap steel guitar work...and there’s an unmistakab le emotion and honesty linking him to forebears like Muddy Waters. Thoughtful, persuasive and rugged.”

Birchwood and his band have crisscrossed the U.S. and Europe repeatedly, delivering unforgettable live performances. They have appeared domestically at festivals including The Chicago Blues Festival, Portland’s Waterfront Blues Festival, The Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, The North Atlantic Blues Festival, The King Biscuit Blues Festival as well as on The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise and Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea. Internationally, they have performed at The Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival, Jazz a Vienne in France, the Rawa Blues Festival in Poland, the Moulin Blues Festival in the Netherlands, the Ottawa Blues Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada, the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, as well as playing concerts in Spain, Norway, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Belgium and Mexico.

“I write and sing what I know,” says Birchwood, whose musical innovations are as expansive as his influences are deep. With Living In A Burning House, Selwyn Birchwood is looking forward to winning over thousands of new fans. “They say everything is better when it’s made with love,” says Birchwood. “That’s how we play our music and that’s how we made the new album. I want my audience to say, ‘I know exactly what that feels like,’ when a song hits them. Because that’s when it stops just being music and starts being medicine. After all, we are all stricken with the condition of being human.”

Shemekia Copeland’s Uncivil War and Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite’s 100 Years Of Blues were named the #1 and #3 Best Blues Albums Of 2020 by MOJO, the influential British music magazine.

Upon its October release, The Chicago Tribune said Uncivil War is "a triumph....Formidable and unflinching, Uncivil War is one of the boldest and most persuasive recordings of Copeland’s already distinguished career."

Of 100 Years Of Blues, which was released in September, The Associated Press declared, "Bishop and Musselwhite rev up one fabulous tune after another."

With a command of his instrument and a firm grasp of tradition, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram represents the next generation of great American blues artists. —PBS NewsHour

Astounding playing....It's almost like he's singing through the guitar. —NPR Music

A phenomenal guitarist capable of doing things you have to see to believe —Houston Chronicle

Click above image for the Guitar Player premiere

On Thursday, November 12, Guitar Player magazine will premiere Ghost From Christmas Past, the first-ever holiday song from five-time Blues Music Award winner and 2019 Grammy Award nominee Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. The recording will be officially released on Friday, November 13, and available on all popular streaming and download services.

Ghost From Christmas Past tells a timeless tale of love gone wrong. The song features Kingfish playing some of the most emotionally blistering guitar he has yet recorded, and singing with pleading, soulful urgency. Ghost Of Christmas Past was written by Tom Hambridge and Richard Fleming, and was recorded in Nashville at famed Ocean Way Studio.

According to Kingfish, "I’ve always loved the holiday season. Obviously, this year will be a bit different considering what we all have had to manage. But, I’m hoping my first holiday song can bring people a bit of cheer as we kick off the holidays."

Since the release of his Alligator debut Kingfish, the 21-year-old musician has earned mountains of praise from press, radio and fans alike. In addition to his Grammy nomination, he won five 2020 Blues Music Awards, including Album Of The Year, Best Guitarist and Best Emerging Artist. He also won four Living Blues Awards and two Blues Blast Awards. When not headlining his own tours, Ingram has performed with Buddy Guy, Vampire Weekend and Jason Isbell.

Kingfish debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues and Heatseekers charts. The song Fresh Out was the most played track in 2019 on Sirius/XM’s Bluesville channel. Songs from the album continue to receive regular airplay on radio stations around the world. Sir Elton John interviewed Kingfish on his Apple Beats podcast. Kingfish also appeared (honoring Buddy Guy) on PBS Television's Austin City Limits. NPR Music named him a 2020 Artist To Watch, and included Kingfish as one of the Best Debut Albums Of 2019. Tastemaker UK music magazine MOJO named Kingfish the #1 Blues Album of 2019. He recently performed a Tiny Desk (Home) Concert for NPR Music.

Ghost From Christmas Past is the third single cut by Kingfish since the release of his debut album. In February 2020, Kingfish unleashed his powerful interpretation of Michael "Iron Man" Burks' Empty Promises. In July 2020, he released his emotionally riveting original song, Rock & Roll, a tribute to his late mother, Princess Pride.

Ingram is a strong, rockin’ blues musician – a traditionalist, basically, who can set fires with his guitar... ferocious, flabbergasting...meaty, serious, canonical.
--New York Times Magazine

A rising blues prodigy...a torchbearer.
 –NPR Music

Ingram is a slashing guitarist and handsome, forceful singer…subtle and surprising…skillfully composed...remarkable maturity.
--MOJO

On Wednesday, November 11, five-time Blues Music Award winner and 2019 Grammy Award nominee Christone “Kingfish” Ingram was featured on nationwide television on PBS NewsHour. The profile includes an interview with Ingram from the Delta Blues Museum in his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, and shows his blistering guitar skills in action. PBS NewsHour has over 2.7 million daily viewers.

PBS NewsHour will air across the country at various times in different markets. Local PBS stations can be found here. Please note, that depending on current events, scheduling may change. Once broadcast, the piece will be available online.

Since the release of his Alligator debut Kingfish, the 21-year-old musician has earned mountains of praise from press, radio and fans alike. In addition to his Grammy nomination, he won five 2020 Blues Music Awards, including Album Of The Year, Best Guitarist and Best Emerging Artist. He also won four Living Blues Awards and two Blues Blast Awards. When not headlining his own tours, Ingram has performed with Buddy Guy, Vampire Weekend and Jason Isbell.

Kingfish debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues and Heatseekers charts. The song Fresh Out was the most played track in 2019 on Sirius/XM’s Bluesville channel. Songs from the album continue to receive regular airplay on radio stations around the world. Sir Elton John interviewed Kingfish on his Apple Beats podcast. Kingfish also appeared (honoring Buddy Guy) on PBS Television's Austin City Limits. NPR Music named him a 2020 Artist To Watch, and included Kingfish as one of the Best Debut Albums Of 2019. Tastemaker UK music magazine MOJO named Kingfish the #1 Blues Album of 2019. He recently performed a Tiny Desk (Home) Concert for NPR Music.

WALL STREET JOURNAL
By Barry Mazor
Nov. 2, 2020


Shemekia Copeland was performing in 1989, at age 10, and by her teens was opening for her father, Texas blues star Johnny Copeland; she released the first of her 10 consistently lauded and awarded albums in 1998. Her commanding, R&B-inflected voice and consummate song readings have taken her to the top of the contemporary blues field, and in 2011 she was literally handed the crown Koko Taylor had held as “Queen of the Blues” at the Chicago Blues Festival.

Ms. Copeland’s ferocious vocal power is noted and praised so often that it’s possible to miss the sweet-tempered, kindhearted nature that lies not far from that surface—a trait she shares with soul queen Mavis Staples. Her firm but affable temperament has helped make Ms. Copeland an adept ambassador for blues and R&B—most recently as the charming host of this year’s virtual Blues Music Awards and of her own weekly SiriusXM radio show, “B.B. King’s Bluesville.” Coupled with her musical flexibility and ambition, that disposition also contributed to her reaching out from the blues world to the broader Americana audience, with one of 2018’s strongest albums in that boundary-busting field, the Nashville-produced “America’s Child” (Alligator Records). That collection’s tone was set by its sharp, pounding opening number, “Ain’t Got Time for Hate.”

Oct. 23 marked the release of her Covid-delayed follow-up album, “Uncivil War” (Alligator), which like “America’s Child” features a number of songs written to order and mood for Ms. Copeland by her manager, John Hahn, and the album’s producer, the in-demand singer-songwriter and guitar ace Will Kimbrough. It’s a testament to the regard in which musicians hold her, and the breadth of sounds incorporated in the music, that the flabbergasting array of rock, soul, country and blues guitarists on the set includes—in addition to Mr. Kimbrough—Jason Isbell, Steve Cropper, Duane Eddy, Jerry Douglas, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Webb Wilder.

That Ms. Copeland continues to be both unyielding in her calls for justice—personal and social—and hopeful about the possibilities for reconciliation seems positively gutsy in this time of division and, as the title song puts it, frequent “uncivility.” The ferocious side is heard, for example, in the opening track, “Clotilda’s on Fire,“ as she relates the story of the last slave ship to arrive on these shores, in 1859. (Its sunken hulk was found in Mobile Bay in 2019.) “We’re still livin’,” she reminds us, and then adds, after a telling pause, “with her ghost.” The singer’s determination and the album’s step-by-step march toward some encouraging resolution are marked by the very next track, “Walk Until I Ride,” which is in the uplifting mode of 1960s civil-rights movement soul anthems, and the folk-rock-influenced title track that follows that. “How long must we fight this uncivil war,” she asks, “the same old wounds that we opened before?... Nobody wins…an uncivil war.”

While these new numbers are forceful, it’s the recording’s cover songs that especially reveal the album’s broad intentions. “Give God the Blues,” a trenchant work featuring an irresistible bass line, observes that “God don’t hate the Muslims; God don’t hate the Jews, God don’t hate the Christians—but we all give God the blues.” Its three songwriters—Shawn Mullins, Phil Madeira and Chuck Cannon—have all recorded it previously; the Shemekia Copeland take is at once cheeky, blues-inflected and especially pointed. Power in personal relationships is dealt with just as boldly. Her slow, deliberate take on Junior Parker’s 1961 R&B hit “In the Dark” lets the cheating, drinking culprit know, in no uncertain terms, that he’ll face a reckoning sooner or later. (Mr. Cropper’s guitar sears on this one, as Mr. Isbell’s does on the opening track.) And for some gender-bending table turning, we’re provided a triumphant, soulful version of the Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb.” That song has often been singled out as a particularly outrageous demonstration of sexism; the Copeland version reminds us that it’s perfectly possible for a woman to sing this “now I’m in charge” song to a man—and that it exemplifies a mood, not necessarily a life philosophy.

Most telling of all is the album closer, a very sweet, exuberant take on “Love Song,” an original by Ms. Copeland’s father. It at once expresses love for him, for the blues, and for getting together with friends to sing. It provides an upbeat, touching resolution to the consequential ride that this powerful set takes us on.

Clotilda's On Fire, Powerful Lead Track From New Album, Uncivil War, Is Centerpiece Of Story On Recently Discovered Slave Ship

This is a masterful record. Finally we have the album that her voice has always deserved.
—Sound Opinions (National radio show hosted by Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis)

Uncivil War is one of the boldest and most persuasive recordings of Copeland’s already distinguished career. Copeland’s incendiary and positively buoyant vocals [are] one of the great instruments in contemporary blues. A triumph.—The Chicago Tribune (Howard Reich)

Copeland possesses a formidable voice that perfectly fits the music. Adventurous and wonderful....A joyful mix of blues, soul and acoustic roots. —The Houston Chronicle (Andrew Dansby)

On October 31, NPR News' Weekend Edition Saturday will air an in-depth story about the recently discovered slave ship Clotilda, featuring multi-Grammy Award nominee Shemekia Copeland and her powerful new song, Clotilda's On Fire. The six-minute piece, by award-winning NPR News national correspondent Debbie Elliott, includes interviews with Copeland, Will Kimbrough (producer and co-writer), and Americana superstar guitarist Jason Isbell, who plays on the recording.

The true, torn-from-history song Clotilda's On Fire -- the lead track from Copeland's celebrated new album, Uncivil War (released on October 23) -- tells the story of the very last slave ship to arrive in America (in Mobile Bay, Alabama) in 1859, 50 years after the slave trade was banned. The ship—burned and sunk by the captain to destroy the evidence—was finally discovered in 2019. The song—featuring Alabama native Isbell playing ferocious blues guitar—is a hair-raising look at living American history delivered with power, tenderness, and jaw-dropping intensity.

Weekend Edition Saturday is heard on NPR member stations across the United States, and around the world on NPR Worldwide.

Uncivil War—recorded in Nashville with award-winning producer and musician Will Kimbrough at the helm—is a career-defining album for Copeland. The topical title track is a courageous plea for unity in a time of disunion. With songs addressing gun violence (Apple Pie And A .45), civil rights (the Staple Singers-esque message song, Walk Until I Ride), lost friends (the Dr. John tribute Dirty Saint), bad love (Junior Parker’s In The Dark) as well as good (Love Song, by her father, legendary bluesman Johnny Clyde Copeland), Uncivil War is far-reaching, soul-searching and timeless. Guests on Uncivil War include legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, Grammy-nominated young guitar star Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, rocker Webb Wilder, rock icon Duane Eddy, mandolin wizard Sam Bush, dobro master Jerry Douglas, and The Orphan Brigade providing background vocals.

American Songwriter said, "Few voices can command a room like Shemekia Copeland's....soulful, passionate, and powerful....She comes in like a tornado, whips you around, and leaves you breathless. Her presence may be soothing [but] her voice can destroy you....unifying messages of connectivity and compassion....Uncivil War is lush and confrontational and demands to be heard."

 Four Songs Recorded at the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi

Flashing brilliance...this Grammy-nominated singer and guitarist from Clarksdale, Miss., has risen to critical acclaim and packed venues across the nation. Kingfish blends Delta blues with contemporary melodies that resonate with blues lovers new and old.
--NPR Music, Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

On Tuesday, October 20, NPR Music premiered award-winning blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Christone “Kingfish” Ingram's Tiny Desk (Home) Concert performance. The tracks were recorded at the Ground Zero Blues Club in Ingram's native Clarksdale, Mississippi, with Paul Rogers on bass. Three of the songs -- Fresh Out, Outside Of This Town and Listen -- were first recorded on his Grammy-nominated 2019 debut album, Kingfish. The fourth song, Rock & Roll, was originally released in July 2020 as a digital single, and is a moving tribute to Ingram's late mother, Princess Pride.

Watch the full performance here: https://www.npr.org/2020/10/20/923049270/kingfish-tiny-desk-home-concert

Since the release of Kingfish, the 21-year-old musician has earned mountains of praise from press, radio and fans alike. In addition to his Grammy nomination, he won five 2020 Blues Music Awards, including Album Of The Year, Best Guitarist and Best Emerging Artist. He also won four Living Blues Awards and two Blues Blast Awards. In addition to headlining his own tours, Ingram has performed with Buddy Guy, Vampire Weekend and Jason Isbell. Kingfish debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues and Heatseekers charts.The song Fresh Out was the most played track in 2019 on Sirius/XM’s Bluesville channel. Songs from the album continue to receive regular airplay on radio stations around the world. Sir Elton John interviewed Kingfish on his Apple Beats podcast. Kingfish also appeared (honoring Buddy Guy) on PBS Television's Austin City Limits. NPR Music named him a 2020 Artist To Watch, and included Kingfish as one of the Best Debut Albums Of 2019. Tastemaker UK music magazine MOJO named Kingfish the #1 Blues Album of 2019.

Ingram made his Tiny Desk debut in 2018 at age 19, backing hip-hop icon Rakim. Upon release of Kingfish, NPR Music called his playing "astounding" saying, "He breathes mighty new life into worn-out guitar-showman clichés….he makes literally every solo a dramatic event. It’s almost like he’s singing through the guitar."

 

SHEMEKIA COPELAND'S UNCIVIL WAR RECEIVES RAVE REVIEW ON SOUND OPINIONS

"This is a masterful record. Finally we have the album that her voice has always deserved."

Uncivil War, the new album from multiple Grammy Award nominee Shemekia Copeland, set for release on Friday, October 23, received a rave review from critics Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis on their nationally syndicated radio show and podcast, Sound Opinions. Sound Opinions airs on over 100 public radio stations nationwide, as well as being available as a podcast on all of the popular services including Spotify and Apple Music. Listen to the full seven minute review here, with the review starting at the beginning of the show:
https://soundopinions.org/show/777

Among the highlights of the review:

"Clotilda’s On Fire: What a song it is. An indication of the topicality, the passion, the social commentary. Shemekia does not shy away from what’s going on in the world and what got us here."

"Walk Until I Ride: A civil rights anthem if I ever heard one. The best Staple Singers song the Staples never gave us."

"Shemekia addresses key issues in America with her big voice, big heart, a lot of passion and a lot of fire. She continues to grow as a singer and as an artist. The genre diversity is so welcome. I’ve never heard her this deep, this broad in terms of influence. Her genre agnosticism echoes Emmylou Harris and Rhiannon Giddens."

Uncivil War—recorded in Nashville with award-winning producer and musician Will Kimbrough at the helm—is a career-defining album for Copeland. The topical title track is a courageous plea for unity in a time of disunion. With songs addressing gun violence (Apple Pie And A .45), civil rights (the Staple Singers-esque message song, Walk Until I Ride), lost friends (the Dr. John tribute Dirty Saint), bad love (Junior Parker’s In The Dark) as well as good (Love Song, by her father, legendary bluesman Johnny Clyde Copeland), Uncivil War is far-reaching, soul-searching and timeless. Guests on Uncivil War include legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, Americana superstar Jason Isbell, Grammy-nominated young guitar star Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, rocker Webb Wilder, rock icon Duane Eddy, mandolin wizard Sam Bush, dobro master Jerry Douglas, and The Orphan Brigade providing background vocals.

Of the new album Copeland says, “I’m trying to put the ‘united’ back in the United States. Like many people, I miss the days when we treated each other better. For me, this country’s all about people with differences coming together to be part of something we all love. That’s what really makes America beautiful.”