News

"I wouldn't be in this business if Bruce hadn't released those first two Hound Dog Taylor records.The fire Bruce captured on those records is the magic place I’m reaching for every time I’m in my studio."
--Dan Auerbach, The Black Keys

"Bruce and his history with Alligator Records encompass so much of the richest and most exciting eras of urban blues. All the fascinating stories and behind the scenes intrigues are here, and the indelible legacy of his commitment to this music and the artists he cares so passionately about makes this a terrific, important read."
--Bonnie Raitt

"Bruce is a true friend of the blues and independent music."
--Mavis Staples

Bitten by the Blues, The Alligator Records Story, the new book co-authored by Alligator Records president and founder Bruce Iglauer and Patrick A. Roberts, will be released on Tuesday, October 30 by The University of Chicago Press. The book is a memoir of a life immersed in the blues -- and the business of running an independent blues label. Bitten By The Blues takes readers behind the scenes, offering larger than life stories of musicians, recording sessions, and what it's like to work with the legends of the genre. 

From first hearing Hound Dog Taylor at Florence's Lounge on Chicago's South Side to building Alligator Records one release at a time to running the biggest blues label in the world, Iglauer and Roberts take readers on a 50-year journey through the blues from local Chicago bars to festival stages across the globe.

According to Iglauer, "We wanted to paint vivid pictures of the charismatic blues immortals that I knew so well, like Hound Dog Taylor, Son Seals, Koko Taylor and Albert Collins, as well as to give insight into the creative process of planning and recording some of their classic albums. And we wanted to give the readers a close-up look at the exciting and visionary artists who are carrying the Alligator tradition into the future, like Marcia Ball, Shemekia Copeland, Selwyn Birchwood and Toronzo Cannon. It's also an insider's look at how the independent record business has changed over the last 50 years, and how those changes have impacted the artists who create the music."

Lauren Salas, Senior Promotions Manager with The University of Chicago Press, says, "Bitten By The Blues is the story of an iconic company and its relentless founder...it's the story of the blues business, of building a company based on a passion for the blues, and the highs and lows of running an indie label. It's the story of blues in Chicago and around the world."


Bruce Iglauer is president and founder of Alligator Records, the largest contemporary blues label in the world. He is also a cofounder of Living Blues magazine and a founder of the Chicago Blues Festival.

Patrick A. Roberts is associate professor in the College of Education at Northern Illinois University. He is the coauthor of Give 'Em Soul, Richard! Race, Radio, and Rhythm and Blues in Chicago. 
 

Electrifying blues guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and Chicago Transit Authority bus operator Toronzo Cannon is currently featured in a CTA ad campaign, with posters appearing in and on buses, at elevated train and subway stations and inside train cars. The campaign features a dozen different CTA employees, referencing their interests and hobbies while focusing on their professional roles with the CTA.

According to Brian Steele, Vice President, Communications and Marketing for the CTA, "The campaign was created to highlight CTA employees — specifically, their professionalism, training and commitment to customers."

For almost 25 years, Cannon has been driving a Chicago Transit Authority bus by day and performing his signature brand of electric Chicago blues by night. Using every vacation day and day off, Cannon arranges his schedule to gig out of town as much as possible, including many European performances. It isn't easy, but, like all of the Chicago greats who have come before him, blues is his calling. "I am proud to be part of a movement,” he says, anxious to hit the road and bring his music to new fans in new places. “I’m proud to be standing on the shoulders of every great Chicago blues musician who came before me."

His 2015 Alligator Records debut, THE CHICAGO WAY, helped Cannon become one of Chicago's most recognized and most popular bluesmen. MOJO magazine declared THE CHICAGO WAY the #1 Best Blues Album Of 2015. Cannon’s battled his way to the top of the ultra-competitive Windy City blues scene, has already played multiple tours of Europe and continues to deliver roof-raising performances around the U.S.A. Cannon won both the 2017 Living Blues Readers’ and Critics’ Awards for Blues Album Of the Year for THE CHICAGO WAY.

Chicago Magazine said, "The range of subjects he tackles is fascinating. People make a big deal of his being a bus driver, but his curiosity about the world goes way beyond that."

In 2016,Chicago television station WGN won an Emmy Award for this Toronzo Cannon feature story:
http://wgntv.com/2016/03/14/toronzo-cannon-blues-man-by-night-bus-driver-by-day/

Cannon is currently working on his next Alligator album, set for release later in 2019.

SHEMEKIA COPELAND BRINGS AMERICA'S CHILD TO
AMERICANAFEST IN NASHVILLE

Showcasing at City Winery Nashville on 9/13

Also Appearing on WMOT-FM's Wired In Wednesday
and on Nationally Syndicated Acoustic Cafe Program

Grammy-nominated blues, R&B and Americana vocalist Shemekia Copeland will perform music from her critically-acclaimed, powerful new album,America’s Child, in a series of performances during the Americana Music Association's AMERICANAFEST in Nashville, Tennessee. America's Child has been a Top 10 Americana album since its August 3 release, and features the Top 5 Americana single Ain’t Got Time For Hate.

Copeland will showcase with her full band at City Winery (609 Lafayette Street, Nashville, TN) on Thursday, September 13 at 7:30pm. Additionally she will appear Wednesday, September 12 at 2:00pm on Nashville’s 89.5 WMOT-FM Wired In Wednesday live broadcast from The Local (110 28^th Ave. North, Nashville, TN). On Thursday, September 14 she will appear at 1:15pm (with guitarist Arthur Neilson) before a live studio audience for a taping of the nationally syndicated radio program Acoustic Café at the Sound Stage Recording Studio (10 Music Circle South, Nashville, TN).

Produced by Americana Instrumentalist Of The Year winner Will Kimbrough (who also plays guitar on the album) and recorded in Nashville, America's Child is a courageous and fiery statement of purpose, a major step forward for the singer whose musical consciousness continues to expand as her star continues to rise. With guests including John Prine, Rhiannon Giddens, Mary Gauthier, Emmylou Harris, Steve Cropper, J.D. Wilkes, Al Perkins and members of the Time Jumpers, America’s Child bursts with Copeland’s bravado and embraces with her tenderness.

America's Child is Copeland's most compelling work yet, with music swelling beyond blues and into spirited Americana, with elements of rock, soul, and country. With a voice that is alternately sultry, assertive and roaring, the three-time Grammy nominee’s wide-open vision of contemporary Americana roots and soul music showcases the evolution of a passionate artist with an up-to-the-minute musical and lyrical approach. From America's Child's anthemic opening track, Ain’t Got Time For Hate, to the closing lullaby, the traditional Go To Sleepy Little Baby, Shemekia sings with passion and insight about the chaos and uncertainty in the world while still finding joy all around her.

The initial reviews have been stellar:

Shemekia Copeland’s voice is rich, soulful and totally commanding. Authoritative, passionate Stax-styled stirrers, raw Chicago blues and countryish folk rockers. Four Stars.
--MOJO

Head-turning and outspoken, America’s Child is a true hybrid of simmering, real-talking spirit and emphatic, folkie-and soul-style statement-making. Copeland sings slow-burning soul and rollicking country-blues with growling vigor and potent conviction.
--NPR MUSIC, First Listen

Bold and brassy attitude and soulful blues delivered with gospel fervor.
--No Depression

Fervent vocals and fierce delivery…Shemekia Copeland comes on stronger, harder and wiser than ever in her incendiary new album, America’s Child. You’re hearing music conceived to ignite passions and raise sensibilities.
--Chicago Tribune

Searing, husky vocals deliver the meticulously chosen material with fierce intent, balancing her emotionally moving four-alarm vocals with a more subtle tough yet tender approach. The riveting America’s Child pushes boundaries, creating music reflecting a larger, wider-ranging tract of Americana.
--American Songwriter

Shemekia Copeland is an antidote to artifice. She is a commanding presence, a powerhouse vocalist delivering the truth.
--Philadelphia Inquirer
 

###

Available on Alligator in North America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan

Munich Records, A Division Of V2 Records Benelux, Will Release
In All Other Territories 

Alligator Records has acquired the rights to release Journeys To The Heart Of The Blues on Friday, October 26. The album is a dynamic new acoustic release from three of the blues' best players. Together, Grammy-winning guitarist, vocalist and Blues Hall Of Famer Joe Louis Walker, virtuoso pianist Bruce Katz and next-generation British harmonica ace Giles Robson take listeners on a musical tour of beautifully played, soulfully sung traditional blues. The album features a carefully chosen collection of eleven stripped-down, unadulterated rare and classic blues and one newly written instrumental performed by absolute masters of the form. Alligator Records will release the album throughout North America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Munich Records, a division of V2 Records Benelux, will release it in all other territories.

Produced by Walker, Katz and Robson and recorded at NRS Studio, Journeys To The Heart Of The Bluescaptures three blues giants digging deep. These are gimmick-free, stripped down recordings, full of raw emotion. The songs—by blues masters including Sonny Boy Williamson, Jazz Gillum, Blind Willie McTell, Smiley Lewis, Papa Lightfoot and Big Maceo—may be old, but the recordings are fresh and vibrant. Walker’s vocals and guitar have never sounded more soulful. Katz’s virtuoso piano playing adds texture and depth, while Robson’s harmonica playing fuels the music to even greater heights. According to Robson, “Journeys To The Heart Of The Blues celebrates the dynamics, grooves, lyrics and feeling of pure, traditional blues. It’s blues played intimately and at a low volume and with the wonderful space that is created when drums and bass are taken out of the equation.”

NPR Music says Joe Louis Walker is “a legendary boundary-pushing icon of modern blues.” He is among the blues’ most honored players, and is known worldwide as a mesmerizing guitarist and soul-testifying vocalist. Walker was born in San Francisco on Christmas Day, 1949. He picked up the guitar as a child, and by the time he was 16, was an in-demand musician on the local club scene, regularly backing touring blues artists rolling through town. As a teenager, he was the house guitarist at San Francisco’s famed musical playground The Matrix, where he played with or opened shows for everyone from Lightnin’ Hopkins to Jimi Hendrix to Thelonious Monk. Since his debut record in 1986, Walker has released 23 albums and has toured the world virtually non-stop. In addition to his Grammy Award, he has won four Blues Music Awards, and has been nominated for a BMA a whopping 52 times.

Pianist Bruce Katz, among the most in-demand pianists on the blues scene and a four-time Blues Music Award nominee, was born in New York City in 1952. He has recorded nine albums with The Bruce Katz Band and has performed, toured and recorded with The Gregg Allman Band, Delbert McClinton, Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, John Hammond, Ronnie Earl, Duke Robillard, Joe Louis Walker and Butch Trucks as well as with The Allman Brothers Band. Greg Allman said of Katz, “He can play jazz, blues, Bach, anything. Man, he’s a heavy!” Legendary blues pianist Pinetop Perkins simply said, “Now that’s a piano player.”

UK-based harmonicist and bandleader Giles Robson, born in 1978, has recorded three albums and has won fans and headlined festivals all across the UK, Europe and even Russia. A lifelong blues devotee, he knows and understands tradition but is unafraid to take the music in unexpected directions. His most recent CD is 2016’s For Those Who Need The Blues. He picked up his first harmonica at age 14 and soon after saw a concert by American Piedmont blues duo Cephas & Wiggins at his local arts center. From then on, he was hooked on the blues. Blues Matters (UK) says, “Robson is a world class harpist. He has the authority, confidence and expertise associated with legends.”

Together, the interplay of these three master musicians borders on telepathic. With Journeys To The Heart Of The Blues, they have created a dynamic, intimate album of pure, unrestrained blues magic. According to Walker, “This album is a throwback to the days of less is more. No long guitar solos, no drums or extra instrumentation. Just good honest blues played with heart and soul. I hope people enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it.” Katz says, “This was an incredibly satisfying CD to record. To be able to play deep, real blues with musicians like Joe and Giles was a truly soulful experience.” As Robson says, “Each song on the album took us on a journey, both lyrically and musically, to the heart of blues music. We invite you to take those journeys with us.” With that in mind, Joe Louis Walker, Bruce Katz and Giles Robson will join forces live and tour Europe in fall of 2018, with plans to bring the music to the U.S.A. in the near future.

Confirmed tour dates are as follows:

September 7 ^-- Foscani Blues Festival, ROMANIA

September 8 ^-- Rockstadt Club, Brasov, ROMANIA

September 13 ^-- Pizza Express Live, Maidstone, UK

September 14 ^-- Blues De Flux, Zaandam, NETHERLANDS

September 15 ^-- Pizza Express Live, Birmingham, UK

September 16 ^-- Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho, LONDON, UK

###

Iconic blues legend Lazy Lester died of cancer on Wednesday, August 22 at his home in Paradise, California. He was 85. The multi-instrumentalist was known primarily for his down home harmonica skills and laconic vocals, but was also proficient on guitar and drums. He developed what he called “swamp blues,” a mix of blues, swamp pop and honky-tonk country music. Lester's high-pitched harmonica and 'lazy' vocals are blues archetypes.

Born Leslie Johnson just outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1933, Lester picked up a harmonica as a boy, quickly becoming proficient and eventually developing his own signature style. After a chance meeting with blues star Lightnin’ Slim, Lester was introduced to Excello Records owner Jay Miller, who signed him to the label. Lester's carefree personality prompted Miller to dub him "Lazy Lester." His first single, 1957’s I’m a Lover Not a Fighter, was a major R&B hit, and was later recorded by The Kinks. Songs including Sugar Coated Love, I Hear You Knocking and Talk To You By Hand helped Lester become an Excello star for over a decade.

He released his first full album, Lazy Lester Rides Again, for the Blue Horizon label in the UK in 1987. Alligator Records released Harp & Soul in 1988. He recorded albums for Antone’s and other labels into the 2000s, continuing to performing at festivals and clubs around the world in front of eager and appreciative fans, and he was a regular at the famed New Orleans Ponderosa Stomp music festival.

Lazy Lester was inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2004 he was part of Martin Scorsese’s Radio City Music Hall concert that became the documentary, Lightning in a Bottle. In 2012, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis. In June of this year, Geico Insurance featured Lester in a national television advertising campaign.

“She’s like the love child of Amy Winehouse and Little Richard.”
–Bruce Iglauer, Alligator Records president

“When I first started out, I couldn't find a singer I liked and I couldn't find a drummer I liked, so I decided to do both.”    –Lindsay Beaver

Alligator Records has set an October 12, 2018 release date for Tough As Love the dynamic label debut from blues-rocking, soul-singing drummer, songwriter and bandleader Lindsay Beaver. On the album and on stage, Beaver is a true powerhouse. She makes an immediate and unforgettable impression. Standing front and center at her kit, singing every song from the depths of her soul, she delivers blues, R&B and old school rock ‘n’ roll with punk rock energy, and sings with a voice brimming with attitude and soulfulness. Starting on the release date, she'll begin a major tour across the United States and Cana da. Until then, she's holding down a weekly residency at Austin, Texas' famed blues club, Antone's.

Lindsay comes at every song with urgent intensity, soul-baring emotion, a distinct swagger and a take-no-prisoners confidence. With influences ranging from Little Richard to The Ramones, from Billie Holiday to Queens of the Stone Age, Lindsay has crafted a timeless sound and personal style that simply cannot be denied.

Hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Beaver possesses an old soul at the young age of 33. She is a classically trained vocalist and a jazz-trained drummer with a deep love and knowledge of roots music, from blues to jazz to R&B ballads to raucous rock ‘n’ roll. Live and on her recordings, she lays it all on the line, performing her signature mix of unforgettable originals and dance floor-filling versions of songs by artists as diverse as Sam Cooke and The Detroit Cobras. Her Alligator Records debut, Tough As Love, introduces her as a true force of nature with a sky’s-the-limit future.

Tough As Love, produced by Beaver, was recorded in Lindsay’s current hometown of Austin, Texas. She wrote seven of the album’s twelve tracks, the striking originals melding seamlessly with the perfectly-chosen covers. Her deep understanding of blues and roots rock traditions is a launching pad for her songs, combining electric urgency with skill and finesse. Tough As Love honors some of Beaver’s inspirations (including songs by Little Willie John, Angela Strehli and Art Neville) while introducing her own unforgettable songs. Along with her touring band—guitarist Brad Stivers and bassist Josh Williams (“they are the glue that holds it all together,” she says)—well-known friends including Marcia Ball, Dennis Gruenling, Laura Chavez, Eve Monsees and Sax Gordon all add their talents to the proceedings. According to Beaver, “These are all folks that I’ve admired or wanted to perform with for years. It was important for me to highlight people that have inspired me.” From the first song to the last, Tough As Love is rough and raw, fearless and moving.

Over the course of her career, Beaver self-released five albums by her previous band, the 24th Street Wailers, producing three of them. Tough As Love is her first release under her own name. She has toured Canada, the United States and large swaths of Europe, and will be back on the road bringing her new music directly to the people, earning new fans at every stop. “I like music with drive and passion,” she says. “I write what I know and I sing what I know. At my shows, I want people to have fun and to be moved. I want everyone to be inspired to dance and I want at least some people to be moved to tears. And I definitely want every person to go home saying, ‘I’m never going to forget this.’”

In the just-published issue #256, Living Blues magazine announced the recipients of their annual Living Blues Awards. Pianist Marcia Ball won the Readers' Poll Award For Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard). This is Ball's 11th Living Blues Award.

Currently celebrating 50 years as a professional musician, Ball has won worldwide fame and countless fans for her ability to ignite a full-scale roadhouse rhythm and blues party every time she takes the stage. Her rollicking Texas boogies, swampy New Orleans ballads and groove-laden Gulf Coast blues have made her a one-of-a-kind favorite with music lovers all over the world. The New York Times says, “Marcia Ball plays two-fisted New Orleans barrelhouse piano and sings in a husky, knowing voice about all the trouble men and women can get into on the way to a good time.”

With her new album, Shine Bright, Ball set out to, in her words, “Make the best Marcia Ball record I could make.” In doing so, she has put together the most musically substantial and uplifting set of songs of her five-decade career. Ball’s new songs are energized by Steve Berlin’s inventive and exciting production, creating electrifying music that is daring, inspired, poignant and timely. Shine Bright is exactly the album Ball set out to make. “It is a ridiculously hopeful, cheerful record,” she says, in light of some of the album’s more serious subject matter. The secret, according to Ball “is to set the political songs to a good dance beat.”

Ball will be inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall Of Fame in October 2018. She holds ten Blues Music Awards, eleven Living Blues Awards, and five Grammy Award nominations. She has been inducted into both the Gulf Coast Music Hall Of Fame and the Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame. The Texas State legislature named her the official 2018 Texas State Musician. According to The Houston Chronicle, “Marcia Ball’s brand of blues lifts the spirit. She’s as perfect an artist as could be."

On Shemekia Copeland's new album, America’s Child (released today, Friday, August 3), the Grammy-nominated singer melds Americana, blues and soul in intense, subtle performances of songs that address the complexities of life in America today. National press and radio are raving about this career-defining release.

After two weeks as #1 Most Added Single at Americana Radio, the song Ain’t Got Time For Hate shot up to #6 on the Americana Singles Chart and America’s Child entered the Top 10 Americana Albums at #9. America’s Child also garnered the #2 Most Added Album on FMQB’s AAA Radio Chart behind Tom Petty.

The initial reviews have been stellar:
Shemekia Copeland’s voice is rich, soulful and totally commanding. Authoritative, passionate Stax-styled stirrers, raw Chicago blues and countryish folk rockers. 4-Stars.
--MOJO

Head-turning and outspoken, America’s Child is a true hybrid of simmering, real-talking spirit and emphatic, folkie-and soul-style statement-making. Copeland sings slow-burning soul and rollicking country-blues with growling vigor and potent conviction.
--NPR MUSIC, First Listen

Bold and brassy attitude and soulful blues delivered with gospel fervor.
--No Depression

Fervent vocals and fierce delivery…Shemekia Copeland comes on stronger, harder and wiser than ever in her incendiary new album, America’s Child. You’re hearing music conceived to ignite passions and raise sensibilities.
--Chicago Tribune

Searing, husky vocals deliver the meticulously chosen material with fierce intent, balancing her emotionally moving four-alarm vocals with a more subtle tough yet tender approach. The riveting America’s Child pushes boundaries, creating music reflecting a larger, wider-ranging tract of Americana.
--American Songwriter

Shemekia Copeland is an antidote to artifice. She is a commanding presence, a powerhouse vocalist delivering the truth.
--Philadelphia Inquirer

Copeland and her band will showcase at the Americana Music Festival in Nashville on Thursday, September 13, 2018, and tour throughout the country in the coming months.
 

Alligator Records has acquired the rights to release Journeys To The Heart Of The Blues, a dynamic new acoustic album from three of the blues' best players. Together, Grammy-winning guitarist, vocalist and Blues Hall Of Famer Joe Louis Walker, virtuoso pianist Bruce Katz and next-generation British harmonica ace and bandleader Giles Robson take listeners on a musical tour of beautifully played, soulfully sung traditional blues. The album features a carefully chosen collection of eleven stripped-down, unadulterated rare and classic blues and one newly written instrumental performed by absolute masters of the form. Alligator Records will release the album throughout North America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Munich Records, a division of V2 Records Benelux, will release it in all other territories. The official street date, set for late autumn, will be announced soon.

The album was conceived in December of 2016 when Joe Louis Walker first met and jammed with Giles Robson at a festival in the Netherlands. Robson imagined recording an acoustic blues album with Walker. Walker quickly agreed, and suggested adding famed piano player Bruce Katz to the mix. The result is Journeys To The Heart Of The Blues.

Produced by Walker, Katz and Robson and recorded at NRS Studio in Woodstock, New York during a sub-zero stretch of weather in January of 2018, Journeys To The Heart Of The Blues captures three blues giants reinterpreting obscure and classic songs. The trio digs deep, playing with gimmick-free raw energy on songs by blues masters including Sonny Boy Williamson, Jazz Gillum, Blind Willie McTell, Smiley Lewis, Papa Lightfoot and Big Maceo. The songs may be old, but the recordings are fresh and vibrant. Walker’s vocals and guitar have never sounded more soulful. Katz’s virtuoso piano playing adds texture and depth, while Robson’s har monica playing fuels the music to even greater heights. According to Robson, “Journeys To The Heart Of The Blues celebrates the dynamics, grooves, lyrics and feeling of pure, traditional blues. It’s blues played intimately and at a low volume and with the wonderful space that is created when drums and bass are taken out of the equation.”

NPR Music says Walker is “a legendary boundary-pushing icon of modern blues.” With 23 solo albums and countless touring miles to his credit, he is among the blues’ most honored players. Pianist Bruce Katz, with nine solo albums under his belt, has performed regularly with Delbert McClinton, Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, John Hammond and others, and is among the most in-demand pianists on the blues scene. Harmonicist Giles Robson has recorded three albums and has won fans all across the UK and Europe. Together, the interplay of these three master musicians borders on telepathic. They will be bringing the music on the road, beginning with European and UK dates in autumn of 2018, with more dates and locations to be announced.

Confirmed 2018 tour dates are as follows:

September 7 ^-- Foscani Blues Festival, ROMANIA

September 8 ^-- Rockstadt Club, Brasov, ROMANIA

September 13 ^-- Pizza Express Live, Maidstone, UK

September 14 ^-- Blues De Flux, Zaandam, NETHERLANDS

September 15 ^-- Pizza Express Live, Birmingham, UK

September 16 ^-- Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho, LONDON, UK

Album set for August 3 release. Produced by Will Kimbrough with guests including John Prine, Mary Gauthier, Rhiannon Giddens, Emmylou Harris, J.D. Wilkes, Steve Cropper and others.

Shemekia Copeland is a powerhouse, a superstar…she can do no wrong.
--Rolling Stone

Shemekia Copeland is one of the great blues voices of our time.  No one comes close to the sheer firepower that Copeland conjures at will.
--Chicago Tribune

America's Child is a groundbreaking, genre-bending work of beauty. Shemekia is one of the great singers of our time. This record introduces listeners to another side of her, and I predict it will result in many new fans. Her voice on these songs is nothing short of magic.
--Mary Gauthier 

Shemekia Copeland is the real deal. America's Child goes deep and Shemekia‘s voice -- a national treasure -- carries the songs effortlessly, whether topical, personal, spiritual, political or just plain raucous fun. Shemekia rears back her head and what comes out is humanity made vocal.
--Will Kimbrough

NPR Music's First Listen will stream award-winning vocalist Shemekia Copeland's potent new Alligator Records album, America's Child, in its entirety beginning Thursday, July 26 through the album's official release date of Friday, August 3. Writer Jewly Hight says the album is "an act of artistic evolution" and highlights its "slow-burning soul" and "confrontational intensity." Listen here.

Produced by Americana Instrumentalist Of The Year winner Will Kimbrough (who also plays guitar on the album) and recorded in Nashville, America's Child is a courageous and fiery statement of purpose, a major step forward for the singer whose musical consciousness continues to expand as her star continues to rise. In their just-published four-star review of the album, MOJO says, "Shemekia's voice is rich, soulful and totally commanding."

America's Child (her eighth album) is Copeland's most compelling work yet, with music swelling beyond blues and into spirited Americana, with elements of rock, soul, and country. Her instantly recognizable voice—capable of being sultry, assertive and roaring—delivers every song with unparalleled honesty and passion. The three-time Grammy nominee’s wide-open vision of contemporary Americana roots and soul music showcases the evolution of a passionate artist with an up-to-the-minute musical and lyrical approach. From America's Child's anthemic opening track, Ain’t Got Time For Hate, to the closing lullaby, the traditional Go To Sleepy Little Baby, Shemekia sings with passion and insight about the chaos and uncertainty in the world while still finding joy all around her.

With guests including John Prine, Rhiannon Giddens, Mary Gauthier, Emmylou Harris, Steve Cropper, J.D. Wilkes, Al Perkins and members of the Time Jumpers, America’s Child bursts with Copeland’s bravado and embraces with her tenderness. Gauthier and songwriter/executive producer John Hahn wrote two striking songs for the project. Smoked Ham And Peaches is a search for truth and tranquility in America, featuring Giddens on African banjo. Americans celebrates our collective diversity in all its forms and colors. American music legend Prine joins Shemekia for a stirring duet on his own Great Rain. Guitar great Cropper adds his scorching playing to the ballad Promised Myself, written by Shemekia's father, the late bluesman Johnny Clyde Copeland. And her version of I'm Not Like Everybody Else transforms the Kinks song into a blues-fueled declaration of independence.

With the birth of her son Johnny Lee Copeland-Schultz in 2016, Shemekia, with fresh eyes, began to take an even deeper look at the state of the world. Of the new album, she says, “After having a child, I started thinking about the world I brought him into, how it actually is and how I wished it was and all the things he will have to go through. And to live in this world today, you have to have a strong foundation like I did to make it through. So that’s what 'America’s child' means to me. I’m truly grateful to all the artists that joined me on this record – it wasn’t about the genre for anyone, it was about the music and mutual love and respect.”

Upon release of America's Child, Copeland will tour nationwide, including a showcase performance at the Americana Music Festival in Nashville in September.

A tremendous raw talent with a poet’s soul… Lindell writes from the heart with a fully realized musical vision           
--Chicago Sun-Times

Impressive super slinky blues and rock with a taste of country twang. Bound to win over roots music fans for years to come
--Guitar Player

Stellar, sublime blue-eyed soul and romping New Orleans R&B, played at the intersection of soul, blues and roots rock
—New Orleans Times-Picayune

 
Alligator Records has set a September 7, 2018 release date for Revolution In Your Heart, the irresistible new album from roots rocker Eric Lindell. With his raspy, soulful voice and memorable original material, the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist first came to national prominence on Alligator Records in 2006, releasing three critically acclaimed albums filled with songs which became instant fan favorites. After a series of releases for other labels, Lindell now returns to Alligator with Revolution In Your Heart, featuring his most engaging and personal writing and his most enticing, instantly hummable melodies.

Revolution In Your Heart was recorded at Studio In The Country in Bogalusa, Louisiana and produced by Lindell and Benjamin Mumphrey. Lindell plays just about everything on the recording – guitar, bass, keyboards, organ, harmonica – except drums, which are expertly played by Willie McMains. The only other musician on the record is keyboardist Kevin McKendree (Delbert McClinton, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Tinsley Ellis), who plays piano on one song. The twelve universally relatable original songs – many of them autobiographical – combine sunshiny melodies and thick, greasy grooves, and paint vivid pictures of everyday living. From the first note to the last, Revolution In Your Heart feels not only somehow immediately familiar, but also profoundly moving. Asked about the timeless appeal of his songs, Lindell simply says, “Music runs deep, it’s a powerful thing.”

Lindell effortlessly mixes West Coast rock, swampy New Orleans R&B, honky tonk country and Memphis soul, creating American roots music that is both surprisingly fresh and sweetly familiar. Although influenced by American roots music from blues to country to rock, Lindell’s style is all his own. USA Today says, "Lindell's genre defying music pumps soul into funk, blues and roots." He has performed thousands of gigs in roadhouses, clubs, concert halls and festivals and has appeared on national radio and television. His live shows overflow with happy, dancing people singing the words to every song.

Lindell's Alligator debut, 2006’s Change In The Weather delighted and surprised music fans hungry for a truly original artist. His deceptively simple sounding songs, laid back grooves and hook-laden melodies were further enriched by guests including Harold Brown (War), Ivan Neville and Stanton Moore (Galactic). Critics across the country went wild, with reviews and features in Relix, OffBeat, Guitar Player, Down Beat, The New Yorker and many other national and regional publications. 2007’s Low On Cash, Rich In Love and 2009’s Gulf Coast Highway pushed Lindell farther into the spotlight. Appearances on Late Night With Conan O’Brien and National Public Radio’s World Cafe and Mountain Stage solidified his stature as an artist who simply could not be ignored. Many of his songs have appeared in films and television shows, including Boston Legal and Treme. He has collaborated and shared stages with blues and rock luminaries, including John Fogerty, Luther Dickinson and Anson Funderburgh.

With Revolution In Your Heart, Lindell was more than ready to come home to Alligator. “The timing is perfect. I’m so excited to get back to focusing on what I do and have such a great team behind me,” he says. Upon release of the album, Lindell and his band will tour heavily, reuniting with old friends and, as always, earning new fans at every stop. AllMusic declares Lindell a singular talent, saying, “He plays soulful, funk-drenched, tight and focused grooves. He is a quadruple threat as a solid songwriter, impressive guitarist, affecting singer and harmonica blower. This is music that’s deceptively difficult to create. Lindell makes it seem not just easy, but natural.”

Living Blues magazine has announced the nominees for the 2018 Living Blues Readers' Awards. Eight Alligator Records artists received a total of 12 nominations. Rick Estrin & The Nightcats received three, Elvin Bishop and Shemekia Copeland each received two, and Coco Montoya, Tommy Castro, Marcia Ball, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials and Oscar Wilson (of The Cash Box Kings) each received one.

The public -- subscribers and non-subscribers alike -- can vote at www.livingblues.com or by mailing in the ballot in the current issue of the magazine (#255), by July 15, 2018.

Winners will be announced in August.

Alligator artists and awards are as follows:

RICK ESTRIN & THE NIGHTCATS:

Best Live Performer
Blues Artist Of The Year (Male)
Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica)

ELVIN BISHOP:

Blues Artist Of The Year (Male)
Best Album Of 2017 - Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio

SHEMEKIA COPELAND:

Blues Artist Of The Year (Female)
Most Outstanding Blues Singer

COCO MONTOYA:

Blues Artist Of The Year (Male)

TOMMY CASTRO:

Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar)

MARCIA BALL:

Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboards)

LIL' ED & THE BLUES IMPERIALS:

Best Live Performer

OSCAR WILSON (of The Cash Box Kings):

Most Outstanding Blues Singer