Shemekia Copeland is a Blues singer. This is a Broadway site. Why should Broadway fans take the time to see Shemekia Copeland? Because sometimes Blues singers become Broadway stars. Ruth Brown, who won the 1989 Tony award in the category "Best Actress in a Musical" has been a Blues singer since the late 1940s.
I don't know if Shemekia Copeland can act, but her voice can blow the roof off of any room she plays and she can move an audience to tears. If that isn't reason enough...her gig at the Wolf Den is also free to the public.
The daughter of Blues guitarist Johnny Copeland, Shemekia was born in Harlem in 1979. She began her music career at age 16, opening for her dad as he toured.
In 1998 she released her first album,
Turn the Heat Up!. She performed at blues festivals all over the U.S. and Europe. With a voice that conveys maturity beyond her years, she gained a reputation as her generation's "shouter"; which is the Blues' version of a Broadway "belter".
Her second album,
Wicked, dropped in 2000 and features a duet with Broadway/Blues legend Ruth Brown. The album was a commercial and critical success with airplay and a GRAMMY nomination.
Talking to Strangers, released two years later, reinforced Shemekia's reputation as the leading female Blues singer of her generation.
Much of the material that Shemekia records and performs is in three acts. It has a distinct beginning, middle and end. She performs with an intensity and conviction that make her audience feel that she is giving her whole self over to a song.
Last year I saw her perform in Hartford, CT. Great room, great crowd. Everything going as expected for Shemekia and the audience. Then she did something that I didn't expect. She sang "Ghetto Child" which is a track from her first album. She sang it unplugged and with only the faintest backing from the band. She came off of the stage, strolled through the audience with no microphone. She wailed with power and emotion that the audience felt as if they were listening to the sound of a heart overcome with ache.
Shemekia has just released
The Soul Truth. I haven't heard the album yet, but I am hoping she will sing some of the cuts from it on Sunday night.
Shemekia Copeland at Mohegan Sun's Wolf Den; Sunday, January 22, 2006 at 7:00 p.m.
www.shemekiacopeland.com
www.mohegansun.com
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