Shemekia Copeland to release 'America's Child' on Friday, August 3, 2018
Produced by Will Kimbrough with guests including John Prine, Mary Gauthier, Rhiannon Giddens, Emmylou Harris, J.D. Wilkes, Steve Cropper and others.
Shemekia Copeland is a powerhouse, a superstar…she can do no wrong.
--Rolling Stone
--Rolling Stone
Shemekia Copeland is one of the great blues voices of our time. No one comes close to the sheer firepower that Copeland conjures at will.
--Chicago Tribune
--Chicago Tribune
America's Child is a groundbreaking, genre-bending work of beauty. Shemekia is one of the great singers of our time. This record introduces listeners to another side of her, and I predict it will result in many new fans. Her voice on these songs is nothing short of magic.
--Mary Gauthier
--Mary Gauthier
Shemekia Copeland is the real deal. America's Child goes deep and Shemekia‘s voice -- a national treasure -- carries the songs effortlessly, whether topical, personal, spiritual, political or just plain raucous fun. Shemekia rears back her head and what comes out is humanity made vocal.
--Will Kimbrough
--Will Kimbrough
Award-winning vocalist Shemekia Copeland will release her potent new Alligator Records album, America's Child, on Friday, August 3, 2018. Produced by Americana Instrumentalist Of The Year winner Will Kimbrough (who also plays guitar on the album) and recorded in Nashville, America's Child is a courageous and fiery statement of purpose, a major step forward for the singer whose musical consciousness continues to expand as her star continues to rise.
America's Child is by far Copeland's most compelling work yet, with music swelling beyond blues and into spirited Americana, with elements of rock, soul, and country. Her instantly recognizable voice—capable of being sultry, assertive and roaring—delivers every song with unparalleled honesty and passion. The three-time Grammy nominee’s wide-open vision of contemporary Americana roots and soul music showcases the evolution of a passionate artist with an up-to-the-minute musical and lyrical approach. From America's Child's anthemic opening track, "Ain’t Got Time For Hate," to the closing lullaby, the traditional Go "To Sleepy Little Baby," Shemekia sings with passion and insight about the chaos and uncertainty in the world while still finding joy all around her.
With guests including John Prine, Rhiannon Giddens, Mary Gauthier, Emmylou Harris, Steve Cropper, J.D. Wilkes, Al Perkins and members of the Time Jumpers, America’s Child bursts with Copeland’s bravado and embraces with her tenderness. Gauthier and songwriter/executive producer John Hahn wrote two striking songs for the project. Smoked Ham And Peaches is a search for truth and tranquility in America, featuring Giddens on African banjo. Americans celebrates our collective diversity in all its forms and colors. American music legend Prine joins Shemekia for a stirring duet on his own Great Rain. Guitar great Cropper adds his scorching playing to the ballad Promised Myself, written by Shemekia's father, the late bluesman Johnny Clyde Copeland. And her version of I'm Not Like Everybody Else transforms the Kinks song into a blues-fueled declaration of independence.
Upon the birth of her son Johnny Lee Copeland in 2017, Shemekia, with fresh eyes, began to take an even deeper look at the state of the world. Of the new album, she says, “After having a child, I started thinking about the world I brought him into, how it actually is and how I wished it was and all the things he will have to go through. And to live in this world today, you have to have a strong foundation like I did to make it through. So that’s what 'America’s child' means to me. I’m truly grateful to all the artists that joined me on this record – it wasn’t about the genre for anyone, it was about the music and mutual love and respect.”
When Shemekia broke on the scene at age 18 in 1998 with her groundbreaking Alligator Records debut CD, Turn The Heat Up, she instantly became a blues and R&B force to be reckoned with. News outlets from The New York Times to CNN praised Copeland's talent, larger-than-life personality, and true star power. With each subsequent release, Copeland's music has continued to grow. From her debut through 2005's The Soul Truth, Shemekia earned eight Blues Music Awards, a host of Living Blues Awards (including the prestigious 2010 Blues Artist Of The Year) and more accolades from fans, critics and fellow musicians. 2000’s Wicked received a Grammy nomination. Two highly successful releases on Telarc (including 2012's Grammy-nominated 33 1/3) cemented her reputation as a singer who, according to NPR's All Things Considered, "embodies the blues with her powerful vocal chops and fearless look at social issues."
Copeland returned to Alligator Records in 2015 with the Grammy-nominated Outskirts Of Love. She won the 2017 Living Blues Readers’ Award for Blues Artist Of The Year (Female), the same distinction she won the year before. She also took home the 2016 Blues Music Award (BMA) for Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year. Outskirts Of Love won the BMA for Best Blues Album Of The Year. MOJO said Copeland was "spectacular, stirring, sanctified and sassy."
Shemekia Copeland has performed thousands of gigs at clubs, festivals and concert halls all over the world and has appeared on national television, NPR, and in newspapers, films and magazines. She's sung with Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, Carlos Santana, James Cotton and many others. She opened for The Rolling Stones and entertained U.S. troops in Iraq and Kuwait. Jeff Beck calls her “amazing.” Santana says, “She’s incandescent…a diamond.” In 2012, she performed with B.B. King, Mick Jagger, Buddy Guy, Trombone Shorty, Gary Clark, Jr. and others at the White House for President and Mrs. Obama.
Now, with America's Child, Shemekia Copeland is standing on the cusp of her greatest success. Her intensely empowering, American music is as insightful as it is fun. Upon release of the album, she'll tour nationwide, including a showcase performance at the Americana Music Festival in Nashville in September.
NPR Music says, "She brings a perfect balance of authority and understatement to each song." No Depressionadds, "When Shemekia Copeland opens her mouth, everybody pays attention. She pierces your soul. This is how you do it, and nobody does it better than Shemekia Copeland."
Passenger takes listeners on a road trip of the U.S. with new album 'Runaway,' out on August 31, 2018
North American Summer Folk Festivals Include Newport Folk Festival, Festival D’Été International and Winnipeg Folk Festival
Following the release of the new single “Hell Or High Water,” UK singer/songwriter Passenger (Mike Rosenberg) has announced his new album Runaway is set for release on August 31, 2018. Runaway, available for pre-order HERE, was recorded between the UK and Australia, but its aesthetic is North American, thanks in large part to his American father who organized trips back to the States every other summer while Mike was growing up in Brighton, UK. While some songs point to specific locations such as Yellowstone or Detroit, Mike imagined all the new songs unfolding against a backdrop of American landscapes, which led to a month long road trip across the U.S. to create a series of live acoustic versions of each album track, and videos to match.
The gorgeous video for “Hell Or High Water” was shot over a few days across various national and state parks, including Monument Valley, Valley of Fire, Death Valley and Joshua Tree. Says Rosenberg,“These epic and vast landscapes really help to portray a feeling of being lost in a hopeless quest for answers.”
Sonically, too, Runaway draws on Americana more so than past Passenger albums. There is some lap steel, some mandolin, a little banjo, all courtesy of guitarist Benjamin Edgar. Rosenberg is also joined on the album by bassist Rob Calder, drummer Peter Marin and keyboard player Jon Hansen.
Passenger will be appearing at a slew of summer festivals across the globe, with North American stops atNewport Folk Festival, Festival D’Ete International, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Calgary Folk Festival,BluesFest, Vancouver Island Folk Festival, and LL Bean Summer Series. Details on a North American headline tour are expected in the coming weeks.
Runaway follows 2016’s Young As The Morning Old As The Sea, which debuted at #1 in the U.K.,Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland, and saw Passenger play his largest headline tour to date, with a total audience of over 1.4 Million across 29 countries, 97 gigs and 23 busking shows, including 13,500 people at Amsterdam’s ZiggoDome.
Passenger gained worldwide recognition with breakout, multi-Platinum single “Let Her Go” (2012), which went #1 in 19 countries and today has 780+ Million worldwide streams and just under 2 Billion YouTube views.
Stay tuned for many more announcements from Passenger in the coming weeks…
Runaway Track Listing:
1. Hell Or High Water
2. Why Can’t I Change
3. Heart To Love
4. Let’s Go
5. He Leaves You Cold
6. Ghost Town
7. Runaway
8. Eagle Bear Buffalo
9. To Be Free
10. Survivors
11. Survivors (Live from Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park, CA)
12. To Be Free (Live from Dauphin Rd, Vineland, NJ)
13. Eagle Bear Buffalo (Live from Canaan Mountain Wilderness Area, UT)
14. Runaway (Live from Joshua Tree National Park, CA)
15. Ghost Town (Live from Michigan Theatre, Detroit, MI)
16. He Leaves You Cold (Live from Unityville, PA)
17. Let's Go (Live from Trough Rd, State Bridge, CO)
18. Heart To Love (Live from a Rooftop in Manhattan, NY)
19. Why Can't I Change (Live from Tahkenitch Landing Campground, Gardiner, OR)
20. Hell Or High Water (Live from Santa Monica Beach, CA)
Passenger North American Summer Festivals:
Thur, July 5 Ottawa, ON @ BluesFest
Fri, July 6 Quebec, QC @ Festival D'Été International
Sun July 8 Winnipeg, MB @ Winnipeg Folk Festival
Sat, July 14 Vancouver, BC @ Vancouver Island Folk Festival
Thur, July 26 Calgary, AB @ Calgary Folk Music Festival
Sat, July 28 Freeport, ME @ LL Bean Summer Series
Sun, July 29 Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival
Click HERE for a full list of Passenger tour dates.
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