ONLINE: Shemekia Copeland

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Mike White

Shemekia Copeland

Shemekia Copeland

Since bursting on the blues music scene in 1998 with Turn The Heat Up, Shemekia Copeland has grown to be a musical powerhouse with a fiery musical vision increasingly unconfined by genre boundaries. The 2020 album Uncivil War is Copeland's strongest statement yet, addressing gun violence, civil rights, and the political disharmony pulling America apart. The songs make their live debut with a full band during this livestream hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center; make a donation here for a link to the concert.

media release: 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.”

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.”