ROOMFUL OF BLUES AND SHEMEKIA COPELAND TO HAVE NEW ALLIGATOR RELEASES IN 2011

ROOMFUL OF BLUES AND SHEMEKIA COPELAND TO HAVE NEW ALLIGATOR RELEASES IN 2011

On January 18, Alligator Records will release Hook, Line & Sinker, the brand new album from Rhode Island's award-winning Roomful Of Blues. Since 1967, the group's deeply rooted blend of swing, rock 'n' roll, jump, blues and soul has earned it five Grammy Award nominations and a slew of other accolades, including seven Blues Music Awards (one for Blues Band Of The Year in 2005). The band has been led since 1996 by guitarist Chris Vachon. Guitar Player says, "Vachon burns with explosive solos and a delightfully greasy sense of rhythm." Roomful of Blues has always maintained its signature sound by boasting great musicianship and a stellar horn section featuring tenor and alto saxophonist Rich Lataille, who first joined the band in 1970. Lataille's masterful playing can evoke either the fat-toned honking sax of the glory days of early rock or the cool elegance of big band swing jazz.

That same day will see the release of Deluxe Edition from powerhouse blue vocalist Shemekia Copeland. The album collects 14 of Copeland's hardest-hitting and most deeply moving songs from her four Alligator albums. Deluxe Edition contains a fold-out mini poster of Copeland and a newly written essay by Alligator president Bruce Iglauer. Songs from her 1998 debut Turn The Heat Up, the 2000 Grammy-nominated follow-up Wicked, the 2002 Dr. John-produced Talking To Strangers and the 2005 Steve Cropper-produced The Soul Truth sit side-by-side, creating the definitive overview of Copeland's irresistible music and her immense talents.