Marcia Ball

A singer-songwriter with a wicked wit and a sharp observational eye, Marcia Ball's good-time boogies are steeped in the spirit and traditions of New Orleans jazz and blues, full of personality and humour. Born in Texas and raised in Louisiana, Ball was taught to play the piano by her grandmother and spent a good chunk of her childhood huddled around a piano with her family singing ragtime hits and show tunes. She also picked up the guitar at age 14 and started singing in psychedelic rock bands when she was in college. She moved to Austin in 1970 and released her first album as part of country act Freda & The Firedogs.

Her debut solo record 'Circuit Queen' was in keeping with the country-folk, Americana ballads of The Band and Emmylou Harris, but when she joined up with Rounder Records her love of southern R&B boogies really started to shape her sound and her albums 'Soulful Dress' and 'Hot Tamale Baby' proved a big turning point. She collaborated with Irma Thomas and Tracy Nelson on the Grammy nominated 'Sing It!' in 1998 and toured across the US, Canada and Europe before both 'Presumed Innocent' and 'So Many Rivers' were named Contemporary Blues Album of the Year. The influence of Fats Domino, Professor Longhair and Dr John continue to shape her work, but Ball created her own unique style and sunny energy and her later albums 'Roadside Attractions' in 2011 and 'The Tattooed Lady and the Alligator Man' in 2014 were acclaimed among the best works of her career.