It may be wintertime, but
the upper reaches of the Hudson Valley will get a blast of heat when
Grammy-nominated blues singer Shemekia Copeland brings her burning brand of
blues to the Egg on January 18.
Called “the greatest
blues singer of her generation” by the Washington Post and “the greatest
female blues vocalist working today” by the Chicago Tribune, Copeland,
the daughter of blues guitar great Johnny Copeland, is a commanding shouter in
the timeless tradition of Etta James. Born in Harlem in 1979, she hit the stage
at an early age, singing with her father’s band at the Cotton Club was she was
only eight years old. At age 16 she turned professional and never looked back,
touring with her dad as an opener and releasing her debut album, Turn the
Heat Up, on Alligator Records in 1998.
Copeland’s second album,
2000’s Wicked, found her dueting with her idol Ruth Brown, while its
followup, 2002’s Talking to Strangers, was produced by Steve Cropper of
Booker T and the MG’s and features guest Dr. John. Oliver Wood of the Wood
Brothers produced 2009’s Never Going Back and 2012’s 33 1/3.
Shemekia Copeland will
perform at the Egg in Albany on January 18 at 8pm. Tickets are $39.50 and
$49.50.
This article appears in January 2025.
