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Shemekia Copeland On Mountain Stage

Brian Blauser
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Brian Blauser Photography

As Larry Groce mentions in his introduction, the daughter of Blues Music Hall of Fame member Johnny Copeland is anything but predictable. Her albums have been produced by the likes of Dr. John and Steve Cropper. For 2015's Outskirts of Love, Oliver Wood of The Wood Brothers manned the board.

Copeland's powerful performance on Outskirts of Love was acknowledged with the 2016 Blues Music Award for best contemporary blues female artist and garnered her third Grammy nomination of her career in the category of best blues album.

Along with her dynamic band that includes Willie Scandlyn on guitar, Kevin Jenkins on bass, Robin Gould on drums, Arthur Neilson on guitar, Copeland delivered this air-tight set to the audience in Marietta, Ohio at the freshly renovated Peoples Bank Theatre last spring.

Her musical reinvention continues with her upcoming ninth album America's Child, due out August 3 from Alligator Records. Recorded in Nashville with producer Will Kimbrough, the record ventures further into the Americana realm. America's Child features new songs by Mary Gauthier, John Han, Oliver Wood and Kevin Gordon, among others. The album also includes reinterpretations of songs by The Kinks, John Prine, and her father Johnny Copeland. Guests features include Rhiannon Giddens, Steve Cropper, Emmylou Harris and more.

SET LIST:

"Outskirts of Love"

"Crossbone Beach"

"The Battle Is Over (But the War Goes On)"

"Married to the Blues"

"Devil's Hand"

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Adam Harris