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I’ve been a fan of this powerful blues and R&B singer ever since she began her recording career on Alligator Records in 1998 at the age of 18. The daughter of the late bluesman Johnny Clyde Copeland and mother of 4-year-old Johnny Lee, Shemekia has released nine albums — seven on Alligator and two on Telarc Records — including her latest, “America’s Child” (released in 2018 on Alligator), for which she’s now touring. The album broadens the singer’s genre range by embracing elements of Americana giving Copeland an even deeper well from which to draw. I reached her on her cellphone in her hometown, Chicago…. 

By Lucky Clark, who interviewed Shemekia about her latest album, America’s Child, her relationship to Maine and the audience there, before her performance at the Waterville Opera House, in Waterville, Maine on March 9. Read the full interview at Central Maine. 

Headlining a strong program is the powerhouse singer Shemekia Copeland, daughter of blues great Johnny Copeland and one of the most creative voices defining the blues today. Only 39, she’s been a force for two decades, ever since the release of her stellar 1998 debut “Turn Up the Heat” (Alligator Records).

Inspired by the birth of her son two years ago, her latest Alligator album “America’s Child” earned her five more Blue Music Award nominations, giving her a good shot at adding to her crowded trophy case when the awards ceremony takes place in Memphis, Tennessee, May 9.

She’s up for contemporary blues female artist of the year, album of the year, and song of the year for “Ain’t Got Time for Hate.” Written for Copeland by John Hahn and Will Kimbrough, the tune is a response to the divisiveness roiling the nation and reflects her sense that she needs to weigh in on our current troubles.

“I work with great writers, and these songs are tailor-made for me,” she says. “My manager has known me since I was 8, and we talk every day about the current climate. When I had my little boy, Johnny, I really started thinking about raising a child in this world. That’s how this record came about.”

By Andrew Gilbert, before the Delta Blues Benefit concert Shemekia headlines this Saturday at El Campanil Theatre, in Antioch, California. Read the full story in the Mercury News. 

Jack Adams talks with award-winning blues/Americana singer Shemekia Copeland ahead of her performance with The Commonheart at Penn’s Peak on Friday, February 22, 2019. Shemekia talks about meeting Jack for the first time; her new album, America’s Child which was recently released on legendary blues label Alligator Records; performing live; and more.

Listen to the interview on WDIY.

“I listened to more than 600 albums and 200 live-music sets in 2018; these were my favorites,” writes Paste‘s Geoffrey Himes, who put Shemekia’s America’s Child in his list. 

Three KVMR 89.5 FM (a community radio in the Gold Country of California) broadcasters named Shemekia Copeland’s America’s Child in their top albums from 2018: Steve Cagle, who hosts Blues Spectrum every other Sunday from 1 pm to 3 pm, Johnny Gallagher, who hosts his Music Magazine every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm., and Jodi Selene.