Shemekia Copeland, as my dad used to say, comes by it honestly. As the daughter of revered blues guitarist and singer Johnny Clyde Copeland, she began performing onstage with her father when she was just eight years old, first appearing at New York’s Cotton Club. These days, Copeland is regarded as one of the most outstanding vocalists singing the blues. On Sunday, December 8, she will headline the Houston Blues Society’s Holiday Bash at Rockefeller’s.
It has been a busy few months for Copeland, owing to the release of her latest album, Blame It on Eve, just a few months ago. The disc has been nominated for a Grammy award in the Best Contemporary Blues category, with the title cut (composed by John Hahn and Will Kimbrough) nominated for Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song, significant in that the music is nominated in different categories.
So what do Grammy nominations mean in a practical sense? “Well, I’ve been nominated before,” Copeland notes, “but this year is pretty special, because I’m nominated for three Grammys. My main goal for blues music is for it to evolve and to grow. And if other people hear it and it crosses different genres, that means people who would not normally hear blues are hearing it, and I like that.”
Copeland has been working with Hahn (executive producer of the new record) and Kimbrough (guitarist and producer) for decades now, and during that time, the partnership has only grown and matured. “It’s amazing,” Copeland says. “We work so well together. It happens so organically. We’re all very like-minded, and it doesn’t matter what I throw at these guys, they can do it, they can handle it.”
Copeland knows from great producers, having worked with Dr. John and Steve Cropper (Booker T and the M.G.’s). “Dr. John was super laid-back” Copeland recalls. “It was awesome working with him, so I loved it. Cropper, it was great working with him, but a different kind of energy. A very energetic producer. Both very different, but wonderful experiences. I’ve been fortunate in this career of mine to work with a lot of great artists.”
A strong female perspective characterizes the new album, with a number of women’s issues raised in the songs. Hahn and Kimbrough are the primary songwriters of record, but Copeland certainly contributes thematically and influences the content. “Oh gosh, always. That’s why we work so well together,” she says. “I think they love having a voice for women, working for women.
“We’re not trying to make just music. We’re trying to make little pieces of art.”
“I’ve always talked about the issues and what was going on. I talk about it all the time. These records are, for us, very calculated, and we spend a lot of time on these records. We’re trying to make little pieces of art. We’re not trying to make just music. We’re trying to make little pieces of art.
“So there’s always something educational in there, like ‘Tee Tot Payne’ [a Black blues musician who mentored a young Hank Williams], and there’s always something funny, like ‘Wine O’Clock.’ And then, of course, I’m talking about things that are happening, like climate change, women’s rights, all those types of things.”
Some have called Copeland’s music political, but she rejects that label. “I feel like I’m talking about what’s going on. Just because one doesn’t want to hear it doesn’t make it political.”
Most cities don’t have rock and roll societies or country music societies, but there are jazz societies and blues societies. Why are organizations like the Houston Blues Society important? “Blues and jazz are not popular music,” Copeland says, “not like rock. So it’s nice to have a society to get the word out and do the work, because we don’t have television and money behind us that some of these other genres have.”
Regarding the Houston Blues Society Holiday bash coming up on Sunday, Copeland is certainly enthusiastic. “I’m so excited. I have a new record, so I have new music. I think we’re going to have a good old time. It will definitely be a bash!”
Returning to the notion of “coming by it honestly,” Copeland says that she has to be on her way and get her seven-year-old son off to his first guitar lesson. “It’s funny, he was all about the drums until recently,” Copeland says. “But I took him to Experience Hendrix, and he heard Kingfish [Ingram] and Kenny Wayne Shepherd – these are all my friends – and he saw Zakk Wylde and he said, ‘Mommy, I want to play guitar.’ So Kenny Wayne Shepherd found him the exact guitar that my dad used to play back in the ‘80s, a Peavey T-60, and he sent it to him. I tell you what, it was hard to find one!”
Shemekia Copeland will perform on Sunday, December 8, 2 p.m., at the Houston Blues Society Holiday Bash to be held at Rockefeller’s, 3620 Washington. Winners of the Houston Blues Challenge will open. For more information, call 832-995-8925 or visit houstonbluessociety.org. $65 and up.
For more information on Shemekia Copeland, visit shemekiacopeland.com.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
