PHOTO: DOUG SEYMOUR | Blues vocalist Shemekia Copeland will grace the stage at Chickie Wah Wah on Sunday, May 29 at 8:30 PM. The three-time Grammy nominee is touring in support of her latest Grammy-nominated album, Outskirts of Love. Guitarist Mason Ruffner opens the show.
With a voice that is alternately sultry, assertive, and roaring, Copeland’s wide-open vision of contemporary blues, roots, and soul music showcases the evolution of a passionate artist with a modern musical and lyrical approach. Shemekia Copeland sounds like no one else whether she’s belting out a raucous blues-rocker, firing up a blistering soul-shouter, bringing the spirit to a gospel-fueled R&B rave-up, or digging deep down into a subtle, country-tinged ballad.
In 1998, Copeland burst on the scene at age 18 with her groundbreaking debut, Turn Up the Heat and instantly became a blues superstar. Her follow up, 2000’s Wicked earned Copeland her first Grammy nomination. News outlets across the world took notice as did major figures in the roots and blues worlds. New Orleans’ own Dr. John produced Talking to Strangers in 2002 and Steve Cropper of Booker T and the MGs and countless other projects produced The Soul Truth in 2005.
In that short period of time, she earned eight Blues Music Awards, a host of Living Blues Awards (including the prestigious 2010 Blues Artist Of The Year), and more accolades from fans, critics, and fellow musicians. Two highly successful releases on Telarc (including 2012’s Grammy-nominated 33 1/3) cemented her reputation as a singer who, according to NPR’s, All Things Considered, “embodies the blues with her powerful vocal chops and fearless look at social issues.”
Copeland returned to Alligator Records, where she recorded four albums from 1998 to 2006, with her latest, Outskirts of Love. The album, which was produced by Oliver Wood of the Wood Brothers features a range of tunes crossing various genres including cuts by her father, Johnny Copeland, Solomon Burke, Credence Clearwater Revival, Jessie Winchester, Albert King, and others. Musical friends including Billy Gibbons, Robert Randolph, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and Will Kimbrough all added their talent.
