Shemekia Copeland will perform for the first time in Prague on 15 July at the Hybernia Theatre. The American singer with an unmistakably velvety, expressive and heartfelt voice is considered the most important blues artist of her generation. She is the winner of fifteen Blues Music Awards and the W.C. Handy Blues Awards, and has been nominated for five Grammy Awards. She has performed with Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, Carlos Santana, Dr. John, James Cotton and many others. She has said of her 2008 concert for American soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait that it opened her eyes to the wider world around her and her place in it. In 2012, she played at the White House for the Obamas, along with B.B. King, Mick Jagger, Buddy Guy and Gary Clark, Jr. Two years ago, she performed at the United Nations for an audience of millions as part of the International Jazz Day celebration. In 2011, she was officially crowned “Queen of the Blues” at the Chicago Blues Festival by Cookie Taylor, daughter of legendary singer Koko Taylor. The concert is presented by Liver Music as part of Bluefest.

“Shemeka’s distinctive and powerful voice gives her music tremendous power and energy. It seems to come from the depths of her soul, from the streets where she grew up, from the everyday sounds of the city – street musicians, gospel singers or winning radios,” wrote Ondřej Bezr, the dramaturg of the Blues Alive festival, where Shemekia Copeland headlined in 2012.

Shemekia Copeland sings honestly about life and the world she grew up in – its positive and negative sides. AllMusic magazine put it this way. She shows that music and social conscience can coexist.” Famed jazz critic Howard Reich declared that “Shemekia Copeland is the greatest blues singer of our time. She pushes the boundaries of the genre, confronting racism, hatred, xenophobia. Thanks to her, the blues always has something to say.” But it’s not just the media that is praising her. Jeff Beck called her “amazing”, Carlos Santana called her “a shining diamond”. Bonnie Raitt told the BBC that “Shemekia always gets it”, and John Prine said he “doesn’t know anyone else who sounds like her”.

Shemekia Copeland was born and raised in Harlem, New York. When she was eight, she first stood on stage at the Cotton Club with her famous father, guitarist Johnny Copeland. At eighteen, she released her debut album Turn The Heat Up on Alligator Records. With each of her next eleven albums, her music evolved. She received her first four Grammy nominations for 2000’s Wicked. 2020’s Uncivil War was named Blues Album of the Year by music magazines in addition to another Grammy nomination. In 2021, she won the B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year award at the Blues Music Awards. As her last recording to date, she released an album called Done Come Too Far in 2022. Interestingly, she hosts her own daily blues show on SiriusXM’s Bluesville radio station until now.

Pre-sale tickets at TicketMaster.cz