Award-winning vocalist Shemekia Copeland celebrated the release of her powerful three-time GRAMMY-nominated Alligator Records album, Blame It On Eve, with two live performances at The Collective Encore in Columbia on Feb. 5 and Feb. 6. Steve Satzberg was there to photograph the show on Feb. 6.
This article is adapted from a press release.
For her latest album, Blame It On Eve, Copeland received the GRAMMY nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album. For the title track, she received nominations for Best American Roots Performance and for Best American Roots Song (written by John Hahn and Will Kimbrough). She now has a total of eight GRAMMY nominations.
Copeland possesses one of the most instantly recognizable and deeply soulful roots music voices of our time. The multi-GRAMMY nominee is beloved and honored worldwide for the fearlessness, honesty and humor of her revelatory songs, as well as for her winning, engaging personality. The Chicago Tribune said, “Copeland is the greatest female blues vocalist working today. There’s no mistaking the majesty of her instrument, nor the ferocity of her delivery.”
On Blame It On Eve, the 12 songs all hit hard, with jaw-dropping performances that instantly take hold and command repeated listening. “There’s serious business on the new album,” Copeland said, “but there are a lot of smiles here too, a lot of joyous moments. It’s my blues for sure but it’s the brighter side. Issues are always important to me, but so is rocking, dancing and just having fun. And that’s something we all can all agree on.” Upon release, Blame It On Eve debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues Chart.
Watch the official lyric video for “Tough Mother” by Shemekia Copeland on YouTube:
Born in Harlem in 1979, Shemekia Copeland first stepped on stage with her famous father at New York’s Cotton Club when she was eight. Upon release of her Alligator Records debut Turn The Heat Up in 1998 when she was only 18, Copeland instantly became a blues and R&B force to be reckoned with. The New York Times and CNN, among many others, praised her talent, larger-than-life personality, dynamic, authoritative voice and true star power. With each subsequent release, Copeland’s fame has continued to grow, while her music has continued to evolve.
With 2018’s America’s Child, Copeland brought out the first of her celebrated trilogy of albums concerning the state of the world, sung from her perspective as a young, Black woman and new mother. MOJO magazine named America’s Child the No. 1 blues release of 2018. It won both the Blues Music Award and the Living Blues Award for Album Of The Year. In addition to earning a GRAMMY Award nomination, Copeland’s groundbreaking 2020 follow-up, Uncivil War, was named the 2020 Blues Album of the Year by DownBeat, MOJO, and Living Blues magazines.
She received her fifth GRAMMY nomination for Done Come Too Far, which closed the trilogy with a searing set of truth-to-power, rock, and Hill Country blues-fueled songs. “Shemekia Copeland is an antidote to artifice,” said The Philadelphia Inquirer. “She is a commanding presence, a powerhouse vocalist delivering the truth.”
With Blame It On Eve, Copeland embarks on what she calls “a vacation from all the heaviness.” Blame It On Eve contains plenty of Copeland’s trademark bold and courageous songs, but here Copeland is also looking to unplug from the weight of world. “My last three records have dealt with breaking news,” she said. “This record is for people like me who want a break from the news.”
Here are some photos of Shemekia Copeland performing at The Collective Encore on Feb. 6, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Steve Satzberg.
