Feature Story September 2002
Buddy Guy and Shemekia Copeland

appearing Sunday, Sept 29th, Moore Theater

Reigning star Buddy Guy and rising star Shemekia Copeland end September here at the Moore. Guy has been on a roll since his last album, Sweet Tea, which retrofitted his playing to the down-and-dirty Mississippi hill-country sound exemplified by the Fat Possum label's R. L. Burnside, T-Model Ford, and Junior Kimbrough. It was quite a change of direction for a guy who's been a leading blues guitarist, popular session player, and successful solo artist since the 1960s. Along with Otis Rush and Magic Sam, Guy helped move the blues guitar into the modern era. On the Chess label in the 1960s, he backed blues legends Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and Koko Taylor, and later played with harp player Junior Wells during the late '60s and early '70s. Guy was a huge influence on rockers such as Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, who called him "the greatest blues guitarist ever." (Guy was heard on TV last year with Clapton at the concert for Sept 11th victims in New York City.) Guy is always a great show. He can make a guitar say more in 10 seconds than a lot of players can in 10 minutes, and he can also make you slip off the edge of your seat with whisper-soft dynamics and soulful blues singing.

Singer Shemekia Copeland is the 22-year-old daughter of the late, great Texas bluesman Johnny Copeland. She's been compared to a young Koko Taylor, Aretha Franklin, and Etta James, but she's developing her own sound and story. Her last album, the Grammy-nominated Wicked, was recorded in New York City, where she grew up on the tough streets of Harlem. She first sang with her father at Harlem's famed Cotton Club at the tender age of 8. Opening shows for her father across the country since she was 15, Shemekia learned first-hand from people like Ruth Brown, James Cotton, and Bobby Rush. Since the release of her debut album in 1998, she's been tearing up the blues world with her huge, dynamic voice. This year, Shemekia won the W.C. Handy Award for "Contemporary Female Artist of the Year" Her new album, Talking to Strangers, was produced by Dr. John, and should be out by the time she plays the Moore. No doubt about it-this young woman will be heard from for years to come.

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