Shemekia Copeland

Daughter of the late Grammy Award-winning Texas blues artist Johnny Copeland, Shemekia Copeland is an American singer who has achieved worldwide acclaim with nine releases on Billboard's Blues Albums Chart and three Grammy nominations since her recording debut in 1998. Born on April 10, 1979 in Harlem, New York, she began singing in public as a child and performed at the iconic Cotton Club in New York. After touring with her father she released her debut album Turn the Heat Up! which went to number eleven on the Blues Chart. In 2000, Wicked reached number eight and was nominated for a Grammy as Best Contemporary Blues Album, while Talking to Strangers (2002) topped the chart, and The Soul Truth (2005) peaked at number three, Never Going Back (2009) number four, Deluxe Edition (2011) number eight, 33 1/3 (2012) went to number seven and earned a Grammy nomination as Best Blues Album and Outskirts of Love (2015) reached number five and landed her third Grammy nod. She has performed around the world with artists such as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt and Carlos Santana and opened on tour for The Rolling Stones. She sang at the White House for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in 2012 along with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Mick Jagger. Her next release, America's Child, which features artists such as banjo player Rhiannon Giddons, folk singer John Prine, Americana singer-guitarist Will Kimbrough and country legend Emmylou Harris, peaked at number three on the Blues Album Chart in 2018. It was followed by Uncivil War (2020), nominated to a Blues Music Award, and then Done Come Too Far (2022) and Blame It on Eve (2024).