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Shemekia Copeland has taken the blues world by storm this past year -- amazing audiences with her powerful voice and poised performance. "I never knew I wanted to sing until I got older," says the twenty-year-old blues vocalist (born April 10, 1979). "But my dad knew ever since I was a baby. He just knew I was gonna be a singer." Her dad, the late Texas blues guitar legend, Johnny Clyde Copeland, recognized his daughter's talent early on. He always encouraged her to sing at home and when she was just eight, brought her on stage to sing at Harlem's famed Cotton Club. At that time Shemekia's desire to "just be a kid," outweighed her desire to sing. But when she was 15, and her father's health began to slow him down, she received the calling. "It was like a switch went off in my head," recalls Shemekia, "I had to do it." Shemekia's passion for singing, matched with her huge, blast-furnace voice and impeccable timing, give her music the timeless power and foot-stomping urgency of some of the female blues greats who have come before her. Comparisons to a young Koko Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and Ruth Brown are not unfounded. But, Shemekia is different. Although schooled in Texas blues by her father, she was raised on the tough streets of Harlem and her music reflects this gritty urban environment. Now, with the release of her outstanding debut album, Turn The Heat Up, Shemekia Copeland is raising the roof with her deeply soulful music and dynamic, booming voice. She is blazing a trail from the streets of Harlem to blues lovers all around the world. This is one show you are not likely to forget. Shemekia will also be appearing at the Bayfront Blues Saloon on Sunday night after the festival.
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