No Depression Session at AMERICANAFEST 2024: Shemekia Copeland

Harlem-born blues vocal powerhouse Shemekia Copeland joined us at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge for her No Depression Session at AMERICANAFEST ’24 to share three songs, including the title track of the new album Blame It On Eve, which just earned her three GRAMMY nominations.

Copeland says of her record, “There’s serious business on the new album, but there are a lot of smiles here too, a lot of joyous moments. It’s my blues for sure, but it’s the brighter side. Issues are always important to me, but so is rocking, dancing, and just having fun.” The heavy-wrapped-in-light vibe is obvious from the first song, “Tough Mother,” an autobiographical song recounting the struggles of a rough upbringing in Harlem, losing her parents at a young age, and surviving kidney cancer. These hard topics are delivered on top of the grooviest blues boogie imaginable, lending an optimistic tone.

The title track navigates recent blows to women’s reproductive health and freedom, and again we’re met with Copeland’s humor and optimism in the face of a reignited battle we thought had been put to bed 50 years ago. Last up is “Wine O’Clock”: fun lyrics, fun tune, zero heavies here.Please enjoy Shemekia Copeland’s No Depression Session, and stay tuned for more No Depression x AMERICANAFEST ’24 sessions in the pipeline. And special thanks to everybody who made this series happen: Julie Tan for her generous support and badass AEA ribbon mics, Joe Lewis for getting it off the ground, Amy Dee for creating the vibe, and Destiny McGregor at AMERICANAFEST for tying it all together.

Setlist:

“Tough Mother”

“Blame It On Eve”

“Wine O’Clock”