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Bishop’s soulful, fuzzed-up, blues-rooted picking and Musselwhite’s rich, hard-edged smokin’ harp style [are] exquisite. They mine the chemistry and down-home vibe to cook up a blues menu that’s as comfortable as a big ol’ plate of biscuits and gravy.
—Living Blues

Two old friends celebrate a century of entwined tradition and innovation. Exquisite harmonica-guitar duets like Muddy Waters and Little Walter, or Johnny Shines and Shakey Horton. Mature, masterly, endlessly rewarding. Four Stars.
—MOJO

 

 

Iconic jazz music publication DownBeat, in its 86th Annual Readers Poll, has named 100 Years Of Blues, from blues guitar hero Elvin Bishop and harmonica ace Charlie Musselwhite, as the Blues Album Of The Year. The full list of DownBeat Readers Poll winners can be found here.

The DownBeat honor adds to the list of awards 100 Years Of Blues has already received. In addition to winning two Blues Music Awards -- for both Album Of The Year and Traditional Album Of The Year -- 100 Years Of Blues was just nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Blues Album category. MOJO magazine selected the album as the #3 Best Blues Album Of The Year. Blues Music Magazine says 100 Years Of Blues is "relaxed, good-natured, fresh and intense. A most enjoyable set by two beloved veteran virtuosos of the blues."

100 Years Of Blues is front-porch, down-home music with Bishop and Musselwhite trading licks and vocals on 12 rootsy, spirited songs, mixing nine originals with three reimagined classics. The two history-making musicians – both Blues Hall Of Famers – are blues legends with over 100 years of professional musicianship between them. Although they’ve known each other since the early 1960s and recorded as guests with John Lee Hooker (and other friends), this is the first time that they ever teamed up to make a full record. According to Musselwhite, “This is us sitting down to play the music that we love and resonating together effortlessly because we’re 'coming from the same place’...on many levels.”

100 Years Of Blues is blues at its deepest, warmest and most engaging. “It all fell together so quickly and easily,” says Bishop. “We each brought about half the songs and recorded them all in one or two takes.” As for his cohorts, Bishop says, “Charlie is the real deal. He didn’t learn his licks off of records; he lived them. He’s always himself. And Bob Welsh (who plays guitar and piano on the album) is so versatile. When you play with people who are real good, it ups your game too. I just did the best job I could.” Of Bishop, Musselwhite says, “Elvin is always a joy to play music with. We see things pretty much the same. Musically it’s like fallin’ off a log. It’s so easy and it just makes sense.” 

Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite's 100 Years Of Blues Nominated in Best Traditional Blues Album Category

Shemekia Copeland's Uncivil War and Christone "Kingfish" Ingram's 662 Nominated in Best Contemporary Blues Album Category

Bishop’s soulful, fuzzed-up, blues-rooted picking and Musselwhite’s rich, hard-edged smokin’ harp style [are] exquisite. They mine the chemistry and down-home vibe to cook up a blues menu that’s as comfortable as a big ol’ plate of biscuits and gravy.  —Living Blues

Two old friends celebrate a century of entwined tradition and innovation. Exquisite harmonica-guitar duets like Muddy Waters and Little Walter, or Johnny Shines and Shakey Horton. Mature, masterly, endlessly rewarding. Four Stars.  —MOJO

Shemekia Copeland is the greatest blues singer of her generation. —The Washington Post

Copeland provides a soundtrack for contemporary America...powerful, ferocious, clear-eyed and hopeful...She’s in such control of her voice that she can scream at injustices before she soothes with loving hope. It sends shivers up your spine. —Living Blues

Her voice is strong and soulful and her message comes from her heart. —Mavis Staples



Christone "Kingfish" Ingram represents the next generation of great American blues artists. —PBS NewsHour

Only 22, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram has already made his mark as one of the best, and undoubtedly most exciting, blues guitarists in the world. —Guitar World

"Exceptional album...astonishing creativity."
#1 Blues Album Of 2021 —MOJO

On Tuesday, November 23, The Recording Academy announced the nominees for the 2022 Grammy Awards. Three Alligator Records albums were recognized.

Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite's acclaimed 100 Years Of Blues received a nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album. Bishop has been nominated for three previous Grammy Awards. Musselwhite has been nominated 13 times, and won a Grammy Award in 2013.

Shemekia Copeland's groundbreaking release, Uncivil War, received a nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Copeland has received three previous Grammy Award nominations.

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram's sophomore release, 662, also received a nomination in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category. His debut, Kingfish, received a Grammy Award nomination in 2019.

The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held in Los Angeles on January 31, 2022.

Song is Title Track From Groundbreaking New Album, Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town

 

Tommy Castro is one of the foremost practitioners of electric blues. Searing delivery, rousing and teeming with emotion…stoked with fire and finesse. The album is a revelatory experience, one that stands as not only Tommy Castro’s most essential album to date, but a sheer, soaring tour-de-force as well.
—Living Blues
 
The new album reminds us of just how talented Castro is -- a convincing singer, rugged guitarist, and exciting performer. Castro’s sheer enthusiasm makes this a highlight of his bulging catalog.
—American Songwriter

Tommy Castro has been a dynamic presence on San Francisco’s blues scene since he first appeared in the ’80s. He just released a new album, A Bluesman Came To Town, and it’s one of his best.
—East Bay Express

Internationally renowned guitarist, singer and songwriter Tommy Castro has premiered his new video of A Bluesman Came To Town, the title track from his dynamic, trailblazing new album. Released on September 17, Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town debuted at #2 on the Billboard Blues Chart and has been on the chart ever since. Since then, critics have agreed it's among the best of his long career, and fans have been lining up to see Tommy and his band, The Painkillers, perform live all across the country.

Radio response to the new album has been equally enthusiastic. A Bluesman Came To Town currently sits at #1 on the Living Blues Radio Chart while the album’s first single, Somewhere, was the most played song at B.B. King’s Bluesville on SiriusXM. The album is also at or near the top of the radio charts in the UK, Australia and France.

Much of the video -- produced by Castro's son, Skyeler Williams and directed by Painkillers bassist Randy McDonald -- was shot in in West Marin, California at the famed Rancho Nicasio roadhouse. It features Castro singing and playing guitar interspersed with images of legendary blues performers including Hound Dog Taylor and B.B. King. Talking about the song, Castro says, "Most musicians can point to a time when they saw or heard an artist that changed their life forever. I remember going to Elvin Bishop shows when I was young. He was one of the guys that inspired me the most, along with Taj Mahal, Johnny Winter and B.B. King."

Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town is a roots music odyssey. This special project was composed by Castro along with Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter Tom Hambridge. Through its 13 songs, the album tells the tale of a young man, working on his family farm, who gets bitten by the blues bug. He masters the guitar and heads out on the road seeking fame and fortune, only to find what he’s left behind is the treasure he’s been looking for. "A Bluesman Came To Town isn’t a story about me," says Castro. "It’s pulled from some of my friends’ and my experiences, though. I’ve seen first-hand for a lot of years what it’s like out there on the road.”

Throughout his long, constantly evolving career, guitarist, singer and songwriter Castro has always remained true to his roots while exploring and creating new music, and he has taken his thousands of devoted fans right along with him. Ranging from horn-fueled R&B to piping hot blues to fiery, stripped-down rock ‘n’ roll, each of his 16 albums is solidly built upon Castro’s unshakable musical foundation—a dynamic mix of 1960s-influenced guitar-fueled blues, testifying Memphis-soaked blue-eyed soul and Latin-tinged East San Jose funk, all driven by Castro’s grab-you-by-the-collar vocals and passionate guitar work. Blues Music Magazine says, "Tommy Castro is one of the best…a great artist. He makes playing rough feel easy. Castro’s guitar is more than a melody maker. It’s as important as the lyrics in telling the story."

Castro is a natural storyteller, and the road has always been his second home. His friend, famed guitarist Joe Bonamassa says, "Tommy has always been top of the heap among blues guitar players. And he always puts on a great show." With many more performances across the United States to come, Tommy Castro & The Painkillers -- bassist Randy McDonald, drummer Bowen Brown and keyboardist Michael Emerson -- continue to reconnect with fans all over the country. He and The Painkillers will instantly ignite a crowd, turn them into loyal fans, and then keep those fans coming back for more. Castro has traveled hundreds of thousands of miles and performed thousands of gigs at clubs, concert halls, and festivals all over the world. ” Blues Revue simply states, "Tommy Castro can do no wrong."

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram represents the next generation of great American blues artists. 
—PBS NewsHour

Ingram plays guitar with dramatic, searing tone and sure-handed authority. And that's just in the studio; he's even scarier live. 
—NPR Music

Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram has already made his mark as one of the best, and undoubtedly most exciting, blues guitarists in the world. 
—Guitar World

Kingfish’s talent is almost otherworldly for his age. Seeing him play is almost a bewitching thing as his fingers fly across the strings of a guitar as deftly as Dr. Strange conjures a spell. He has entranced the music world.
—Afropunk


Today, Tuesday, November 2, Clarksdale, Mississippi's own Christone "Kingfish" Ingram announced the first set of dates for his 2022 tour in support of his critically and popularly acclaimed Alligator album, 662. Entitled Christone "Kingfish" Ingram Presents 662: Juke Joint Live, the tour is a partnership with Nashville-based Outback Presents, and will take the 22-year-old guitarist, vocalist and songwriter across the country with dates beginning March 2022 and going through May. According to Ingram, “I’m very excited to continue my ‘662 Juke Joint Live’ tour and to partner with Outback Presents to reach current and new fans in larger, more iconic music venues across the country. Just like a Mississippi juke joint, these shows will be high-energy, jumping, and lots of fun.”

Mike Smardak, President, Outback Presents, is equally excited, saying, "We are thrilled to be working with Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and his team. Christone is a rising star and we see great potential and countless opportunities in his future. We are thankful for the opportunity.”

Ingram's new music video for 662's blistering second single, Long Distance Woman, premieres today at Flaunt magazine online. Flaunt notes the "spellbinding songwriting" and Ingram's "enchanting capabilities with six strings." Talking about the song, Ingram says, "Maintaining a healthy relationship is already hard and when you sprinkle in distance it can make matters of the heart particularly taxing. Covid certainly changed and tested how we all communicate. So as a response to the times, using video chat, the Long Distance Woman visuals speak to how romantic relationships can be challenged by proximity.”

Upon its July 2021 release, 662 debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart, and it's remained on the chart ever since. NPR's Morning Edition ran a 7-minute feature on release day. Tastemaker UK magazine MOJO called 662 "an exceptional album" filled with "astonishing creativity." Influential website Under The Radar said, "Kingfish is one of the torchbearers for the blues, with his bellowing voice and shrieking, nimble solos."

662 was recorded in Nashville and co-written and produced by Grammy-winner Tom Hambridge. It features 13 songs (and one previously released bonus track) displaying many sides of Ingram’s personality, as well as his one-of-a-kind guitar and vocal skills. According to Ingram, "662 is an ode to my roots, a nod to the area where I was born and raised. The title track, 662, encompasses how a small corner of the earth influenced my view of life and music. It also points to the growth I have had since my debut album. As much as I have been fortunate to get 'Outside Of This Town' (the title of his breakout single from his 2019 Grammy-nominated debut album, Kingfish), I do want people to know that the '662' will always be a major part of who I am."

Feral blues guitar...non-stop gigging has sharpened his six-string to a razor’s edge...his eloquence dazzles...he achieves pyrotechnics that rival early Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton.
—Rolling Stone

One of modern blues’ greatest guitarists and performers.
—Vintage Guitar

Rugged, burning and riveting….Tinsley Ellis is a powerful and commanding presence, both on guitar and as a gruff, full-throated vocalist. It’s hard to overstate the raw power of his music. It’s impossible to not enjoy the ride.
—Blues Music Magazine

 

On Friday, January 21, 2022, world-renowned guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Tinsley Ellis will release his new Alligator album, the propulsive, soul-searching, raw and cathartic Devil May Care. The album, Ellis' 20th, will be available on CD and on red vinyl LP, as well as on all major streaming and download services. That same day, Ellis will kick off his coast-to-coast North American tour from his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.

Devil May Care features ten of Ellis’ most dynamic original compositions, mixing muscular rock ‘n’ roll and hard blues into his own instantly recognizable sound.  The emotionally-charged guitar solos soar in full service to the songs, as if Ellis is living and breathing the sound rather than simply playing the notes. “The goal,” says Ellis, “was to make the guitar sing.”

Relix says Ellis' music contains "powerful spine-tingling guitar and gritty, soulful vocals …an inspired and passionate fusion of blues and Southern rock." Guitar World declares, "Ellis’ playing sparkles with depth and subtlety. Whether playing deep, slow blues or uptempo rockers, Ellis rides a gorgeously fat, pure tone."

While the worldwide pandemic and subsequent shutdown profoundly affected every musician (and every person), Ellis used his time off the road to write over 200 new songs. In March 2020, Ellis was forced to cancel the tour promoting his previous release, Ice Cream In Hell, only six weeks into the 60-date run. He almost immediately began composing on amps and guitars that he hadn’t used for decades. He explored obscure studio and live recordings from some of his greatest musical heroes, such as the Allman Brothers, Freddie King, Michael Bloomfield, B.B. King and beyond, and was inspired by his favorite artists all over again. Somehow, in the most unlikely of times, Tinsley Ellis committed to growing his already formidable talent.

As early as April 2020, he began regularly releasing his new material online, keeping his fans engaged and soaking up their comments and responses. He knew, thanks to the reactions of his fans to his new songs, that he needed to make a record and get back on the road as soon as possible. Ellis whittled the 200-song list down to ten, enlisted his friend and co-producer, keyboard master Kevin McKendree, and headed for Franklin, Tennessee’s famous Rock House recording studio. The result is Devil May Care, a record Ellis says, "is for the fans as much as for me.”

Tinsley Ellis has been immersed in music his whole life. Born in Atlanta 1957 and raised in southern Florida, he acquired his first guitar at age seven, inspired by seeing The Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. He took to guitar instantly, developing and sharpening his skills as he grew up. Like many kids his age, Ellis discovered the blues through the back door of British Invasion bands like The Yardbirds, The Animals, Cream and The Rolling Stones as well as Southern rockers like the Allman Brothers. One night in 1972, he and a friend were listening to Al Kooper and Michael Bloomfield’s Super Session record when his friend’s older brother told them that, if they liked Super Session, they should go see B.B. King, who was in town that week. Tinsley saw that show from the very front row. As fate would have it, King broke a guitar string while playing, and after changing it without missing a beat, he handed the broken string to young Tinsley. And yes, he still has that string.

Today, Ellis is among the world’s most celebrated blues-rock performers, and one of the genre’s most original and prolific songwriters. Blues Music Magazine says he plays “perfect, and perfectly Southern, blues-rock.” Vintage Guitar says, “He delivers blistering blues-rock, soul romps, minor-key blues and shuffles—and it all sounds great.” Ellis has toured the world non-stop for 35 years. He has captivated and amazed fans in all 50 United States, as well as in Canada, all across Europe, Australia and South America. He’s earned a massive, fervent fan base that can never seem to get enough of Ellis and his music. Fueled by his blazing, every-note-matters guitar work and his gruff, spirited vocals, Ellis delivers one imaginative and memorable song after another. Now, with Devil May Care and a new tour booked, Ellis is more than ready to make up for lost time.

According to Allmusic.com, “Ellis’ playing underscores the emotional depth in the lyrics. His meaty solos dig deep.” With Devil May Care, Ellis proves that true again, with ten jaw-dropping, career-topping performances. As he continues adding more dates to his already packed tour schedule, Ellis will bring his high-energy Southern blues-rock to fans all across the country. "It’s been a long 18 months,” he says, “and now folks are ready to have some fun.”

"This singer-songwriter continues to leap forward…intent on both working in the blues idiom and expanding on it. His vocals are as tough as these funky, surprising sounds demand. The 13 original songs are constructed for drama….stories and sounds combine to haunt beyond their specific references, as the best blues songs will."
—The Wall Street Journal

"Selwyn Birchwood reaches back in the blues tradition to launch something out of this world."
—No Depression


Groundbreaking young blues visionary Selwyn Birchwood today announced the premiere of his attention-grabbing new video for his original song, Searching For My Tribe. The passionate, thought-provoking track appears on Birchwood's recently released third Alligator album, Living In A Burning House. Living Blues declared, "With Living in a Burning House, the guitarist may have made his most fully realized artistic statement to date."

According to Birchwood, Searching For My Tribe is about his personal journey for self-actualization. "I had always been a loner from a very young age. At 19 years old, I discovered an entire world of blues music that felt like 'home'. I knew then where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. Just when I thought I had found my place in the sun, it appears as though all of the people and sounds that brought me in have been replaced with other trends. This music video allows me to tell that story, visually, from a different perspective as it  showcases the state of the 'art' in the environment we see today."

Since the 2014 release of his Alligator Records debut, Don’t Call No Ambulance, Birchwood’s meteoric rise from playing small Florida clubs to headlining international festival stages is nothing short of phenomenal. The album received the Blues Music Award and Living Blues Critics’ Award for Best Debut Album Of 2014, and he won the 2015 Blues Blast Rising Star Award. Rave reviews ran in publications from Rolling Stone to The Wall Street Journal, from The Chicago Tribune to The San Francisco Chronicle.He followed in 2016 with Pick Your Poison. DownBeat said, “There’s a deep-seated power about Birchwood’s singing and six string/lap steel guitar work...and there’s an unmistakable emotion and honesty linking him to forebearers like Muddy Waters.”

Concert Film Features Label Stars Billy Branch & The Sons Of Blues, Shemekia Copeland, Lil’ Ed Williams, Toronzo Cannon and Label President Bruce Iglauer

Recorded Live At Governors State University
Center For Performing Arts

“Alligator Records stands as one of the most enduring and revered independent blues labels in the world, its catalog holding inextinguishable works.” –The Chicago Tribune   “Prestigious, scrappy independent Alligator Records has reached dizzying heights in celebrating the blues.”  –Rolling Stone   “With muscular, no-frills production, Alligator catches the blues as it melds with soul, rock, gospel, country and zydeco, partying away the pains of love. Alligator is the leading record label for the blues, and has succeeded where the giants have failed.” –The New York Times

Chicago television station WTTW will broadcast Sweet Home Chicago -- Celebrating 50 Years Of Alligator Records on Friday, September 10 at 9:30pm Central time, and on Sunday, September 12 at 12:30pm Central time. Find more information about the broadcast here. The concert was filmed live earlier this year at Governors State University (GSU) Center For Performing Arts as part of their 25th anniversary season.

The film features roof-raising performances from label stars Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues, Grammy-nominated vocalist Shemekia Copeland, slide guitarist Lil' Ed Williams, and guitarist and songwriter Toronzo Cannon. Alligator Records president Bruce Iglauer appears as emcee.

Alligator Records, founded in 1971 by Iglauer, is home to some of the world’s foremost blues and roots rock talent and is regarded by fans and the media alike as the top contemporary blues record label in the world. On June 18, 2021, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared "Alligator Records Day" throughout the city via official proclamation. This is the same day Alligator Records—50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin' Music (a 2-LP or 3-CD set) was released.

Rolling Stone says, “Prestigious, scrappy independent blues label Alligator Records has reached dizzying heights in celebrating the blues.” From classic Windy City artists like Hound Dog Taylor and “Queen Of The Blues” Koko Taylor, to next generation legends Lil’ Ed Williams and Billy Branch to contemporary stars including Toronzo Cannon and Shemekia Copeland, Alligator’s discography reads like a who’s who in modern blues history. Legendary artists including Lonnie Brooks, Luther Allison, Johnny Winter, Albert Collins, James Cotton, Rick Estrin, Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, Michael “Iron Man” Burks, The Holmes Brothers, Mavis Staples, Marcia Ball and rising stars Selwyn Birchwood and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram are just some of the blues immortals who have recorded groundbreaking music for the label. Now, at 50 years old, Alligator is still committed to discovering great new talent, proving that the passion, soul and redemptive power of blues and roots music is alive and well.

Sweet Home Chicago -- Celebrating 50 Years Of Alligator Records is produced by the Governors State University Center for Performing Arts with the generous support by the GSU Department of Learning and Media Design, Illinois Arts Council and First Midwest Bank.

Alligator Records Debut Tempting Fate Produced By Dave Alvin
And Set For October 8 Release

“Carolyn Wonderland is a fiery blues rocker with incendiary guitar chops and raw, powerful vocals.”
–NPR Music 

“Mighty and joyous rock-injected blues...luxurious vocals and fine guitar work. Her voice is as muscular as her name is evocative.”
–Austin Chronicle

“Carolyn Wonderland is the real deal. She’s an amazing guitar player. And damn, can she sing.”
–Los Angeles Times 
 
“Hey, have you heard Carolyn Wonderland? She’s something else. She should be nationwide.”
–Bob Dylan, talking to Asleep At The Wheel's Ray Benson 

 

Award-winning Texas guitar slinger, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Carolyn Wonderland has announce dates for her 2021 Tempting Fate Tour, with performances stretching from September 2021 through the end of the year. Wonderland will release her Alligator Records debut album, Tempting Fate, on Friday, October 8. The album, her 11th, was produced by famed master roots musician Dave Alvin, and features Wonderland's signature, blistering six-string and lap steel playing, her intense vocals and her original songs melding blues, rock and Americana.

Tempting Fate finds Wonderland delivering ten riveting songs, including five fiery originals and one co-write. Her vocals range from raw and fierce to subtle and gentle. Her guitar work, on both six-string and lap steel, is often explosive and always melodic. According to Dave Alvin, "Carolyn is unique, strong, soulful and sincere. She can pick and belt out the blues with the best of them, but her powerful, melodic vocals and six-string stylings are truly her own. Traditional yet innovative, tough yet tender, Carolyn always sounds like no one else but herself."

Wonderland has been performing professionally since the age of 15. Her music is a bold mix of timeless original songs and reinventions of some of her favorites, ranging from blistering electric blues to deep, heartfelt ballads to cosmic country to soulful Tex-Mex. Every song is fueled by Wonderland’s forceful yet melodic Texas-flavored guitar work and her full-throated, heart-on-her-sleeve vocals. She has been a road warrior for over 20 years, and has played all over the U.S. and in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Panama, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, the Canary Islands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Japan. She just concluded a three-year stint as the lead guitarist in British blues master John Mayall’s iconic Blues Breakers. In addition to his legendary musical skills, Mayall is among the world's greatest blues-rock guitar talent scouts. He personally chose Carolyn for the role formerly filled by Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Peter Green, Walter Trout, Coco Montoya, and more six-string luminaries.

The Boston Herald describes Carolyn as “a dollop of Janis Joplin, a slice of Stevie Ray Vaughan, and a big load of soulful individuality. That’s Wonderland, a seething-hot Texas singer-guitarist. And she can write, too.” Now, with Tempting Fate and a major tour in the works, Carolyn Wonderland is excited to get back out on the road and reconnect with her fans and friends. “We will play dang near anywhere that’ll have us,” she says. Of her chosen profession, the effervescent Wonderland told NPR Music’s Mountain Stage, “I wouldn’t recommend it for the faint of heart, but it sure is a good time.”

Concert attendees are strongly advised to contact the venue to confirm performance.

Shemekia Copeland Wins Female Blues Artist Of The Year
Copeland, Curtis Salgado and the duo of Elvin Bishop And Charlie Musselwhite
All Win Top Album Awards

On Wednesday, August 25, Blues Blast Magazine announced the winners of the 14th Annual Blues Blast Awards. Four Alligator Records artists -- Shemekia Copeland, Curtis Salgado and the duo of Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite -- won a total of four awards, including three top album awards.

Voting for the awards was free and open to the public (one vote per person) at the Blues Blast website.

      

Celebrated blues, soul and Americana vocalist Shemekia Copeland received awards in both categories for which she was nominated: Female Blues Artist and Contemporary Blues Recording for her groundbreaking 2020 album, Uncivil War.

Legendary blues giants Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite won for Traditional Blues Recording for their timeless album, 100 Years Of Blues.

Soul, rock and blues vocalist Curtis Salgado received the award for Soul Blues Recording for his acclaimed 2021 release, Damage Control. 

New Album, Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town,
Set For September 17 Release

New Song, Somewhere, Premieres Today
On Monday, August 9, internationally beloved guitarist, singer and songwriter Tommy Castro, leader of Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, announced dates for his A Bluesman Came To Town national tour. With performances all across the United States beginning in September 2021 and moving into early 2022, Tommy Castro & The Painkillers -- bassist Randy McDonald, drummer Bowen Brown and keyboardist Michael Emerson -- will reconnect with fans all over the country. Concert attendees are strongly advised to contact the venue to confirm performance.

Castro's trailblazing new album, Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town, is set for September 17 release. The first song to be released from the album, Somewhere, also premieres on August 9.

Throughout his long, constantly evolving career, guitarist, singer and songwriter Castro has always remained true to himself while exploring, growing and creating new music, and he has taken his thousands of devoted fans right along with him. Ranging from horn-fueled R&B to piping hot blues to fiery, stripped-down rock ‘n’ roll, each of his 16 albums is solidly built upon Castro’s unshakable musical foundation—a dynamic mix of 1960s-influenced guitar-fueled blues, testifying Memphis-soaked blue-eyed soul and Latin-tinged East San Jose funk, all driven by Castro’s grab-you-by-the-collar vocals and passionate guitar work. Blues Revue declared, “Tommy Castro can do no wrong.”
 
Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town is a roots music odyssey. This special project was composed by Castro along with Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter Tom Hambridge. Through its 13 songs, the album tells the tale of a young man, working on his family farm, who gets bitten by the blues bug. He masters the guitar and heads out on the road seeking fame and fortune, only to find what he’s left behind is the treasure he’s been looking for. "A Bluesman Came To Town isn’t a story about me," says Castro. "It’s pulled from some of my friends’ and my experiences, though. I’ve seen first-hand for a lot of years what it’s like out there on the road.”
 
The road has always been Castro’s home away from home. He and The Painkillers will instantly ignite a crowd, turn them into loyal fans, and then keep those fans coming back for more. Castro has traveled hundreds of thousands of miles and performed thousands of gigs at clubs, concert halls, and festivals all over the world. Famed guitarist Joe Bonamassa says, “Tommy has always been top of the heap among blues guitar players. He always puts on a great show.”
 
On the new A Bluesman Came To Town tour, Tommy Castro & The Painkillers will perform fan favorites as well as songs from the new album. “I’ve made seven albums for Alligator,” Castro says, “and I’ve never made the same record twice. I will always try to be my most authentic self. I give it all I’ve got every time we hit the stage!”

See all the tour dates here.

Alligator Records Debut Album Produced By Dave Alvin

Guests include Marcia Ball, Jimmie Dale Gilmore,Cindy Cashdollar and Shelley King

“Carolyn Wonderland is a fiery blues rocker with incendiary guitar chops and raw, powerful vocals.”
—NPR Music 

“Mighty and joyous rock-injected blues...luxurious vocals and fine guitar work. Her voice is as muscular as her name is evocative.”
—Austin Chronicle

“Carolyn Wonderland is the real deal. She’s an amazing guitar player. And damn, can she sing.”
—Los Angeles Times 

“Hey, have you heard Carolyn Wonderland? She’s something else. She should be nationwide.”
—Bob Dylan, talking to Asleep At The Wheel's Ray Benson

Award-winning Texas guitar slinger, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Carolyn Wonderland will release her Alligator Records debut album, Tempting Fate, on Friday, October 8. The album, produced by famed master roots musician Dave Alvin, is the next chapter in Wonderland’s remarkable career, one that is already overflowing with countless, colorful, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. She spent the last three years as lead guitarist in blues legend John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, and has now joined the Alligator Records family as the first female guitar hero in the label’s storied 50-year history. But that's not all. Her spine-chilling, soul-deep singing matches her guitar prowess note for note. And she has a knack for writing songs that sound like instant classics.

Wonderland has been performing professionally since the age of 15. Her music is a bold mix of timeless original songs and reinventions of some of her favorites, ranging from blistering electric blues to deep, heartfelt ballads to cosmic country to soulful Tex-Mex. Every song is fueled by Wonderland’s forceful yet melodic Texas-flavored guitar work and her full-throated, heart-on-her-sleeve vocals.

Tempting Fate is Wonderland's 11th album, and it finds her delivering ten riveting songs, including five fiery originals and one co-write. Her vocals range from raw and fierce to subtle and gentle. Her guitar work, on both six-string and lap steel, is often explosive and always melodic. According to Dave Alvin, "Carolyn is unique, strong, soulful and sincere. She can pick and belt out the blues with the best of them, but her powerful, melodic vocals and six-string stylings are truly her own. Traditional yet innovative, tough yet tender, Carolyn always sounds like no one else but herself."

On every song—from the searing, guitar-heavy Broken Hearted Blues to the tender and poignant Crack In The Wall to the very Texan love song for her boot collection, Texas Girl And Her Boots, to the politically-charged Fragile Peace And Certain War to the take-no-prisoners version of the Grateful Dead’s Loser—Wonderland throws herself completely into the music. Her shining duet with Texas singing/songwriting legend Jimmie Dale Gilmore on Bob Dylan’s It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry redefines the song. Her explosive guitar work and commanding vocals on John Mayall’s The Laws Must Change makes his song hers. 

In addition to her longtime road band—bassist Bobby Perkins and drummer Kevin Lance—who anchor every song, guests on Tempting Fate include Jimmie Dale Gilmore on vocals, Cindy Cashdollar on lap steel guitar, Marcia Ball on piano, Shelley King on background vocals, Jan Flemming on accordion and Red Young on organ and piano, with producer Dave Alvin playing guitar on three songs. “The joy was palpable, getting to play with my friends and heroes at Stuart Sullivan’s studio, and Stuart captured that joy in the recording. You can hear the smile on my face and tear in my eye on every track. And everyone sat up straight for Dave Alvin, who had great ideas as our producer.”

Wonderland has been a road warrior for over 20 years. She’s played all over the U.S. and in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Panama, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Canary Islands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Japan. In 2018, venerated musician and bandleader John Mayall chose Wonderland to be lead guitarist in his band, The Blues Breakers. She became the first woman ever to hold that position. (The all-star list of Mayall’s legendary guitarists includes Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Peter Green, Coco Montoya and Walter Trout.) She toured the world with Mayall, once playing 50 shows in 60 days in 19 countries. She recently left the band to tour in celebration of her new Alligator album.

Carolyn Wonderland was born in Houston, Texas and grew up in a house full of music and instruments. She first started playing guitar at age six. After she scratched up her mother’s vintage Martin guitar by imitating Pete Townsend’s famous windmill move, she was forbidden from using a pick. Because of that, she developed her aggressive, distinctive finger-picking guitar attack. Her early influences include her mom, Houston guitar legends Albert Collins, Jerry Lightfoot, Little Screamin' Kenny and Joe “Guitar” Hughes, as well as blues and soul vocalist Lavelle White. Singing came naturally, as did learning to play just about every instrument she got her hands on. She plays trumpet, accordion, lap steel, piano, and mandolin.
 
With four albums already under her belt, Wonderland moved to Austin, Texas in 1999, where she quickly earned a large and loyal following, creating plenty of press buzz and radio attention. Then one day in 2003, legendary musician Ray Benson (of Asleep At The Wheel) was having lunch with his friend Bob Dylan, who had heard Wonderland’s music. Dylan asked Benson, “Hey, have you heard Carolyn Wonderland? She’s something else.” Dylan wanted to meet Wonderland, so Benson got her number from a mutual friend and called her in Houston, telling Wonderland to get to Austin immediately to meet with Dylan. She drove the 165 miles at record speed to spend some time with him. They’ve crossed paths since, sometimes jamming, sometimes just talking about music (“He’s a true musicologist,” she says of Bob). “Sometimes he’ll just call,” Wonderland says.“It's always a pleasant surprise to me when he does, so I’ll likely never change my number.”
 
Benson went on to produce Wonderland’s next four albums, all critically acclaimed fan favorites. According to Benson, “Carolyn’s got that unbelievable, incredible voice, one of the great voices of our times. She’s got the range, the emotion. She’s also an incredible guitar player and a great person. The combination is disarming and totally real. That’s magic.”
 
The Boston Herald describes Carolyn as “a dollop of Janis Joplin, a slice of Stevie Ray Vaughan, and a big load of soulful individuality. That’s Wonderland, a seething-hot Texas singer-guitarist. And she can write, too.” Now, with Tempting Fate and a major tour in the works, Carolyn Wonderland is excited to get back out on the road and reconnect with her fans and friends. “We will play dang near anywhere that’ll have us,” she says. Of her chosen profession, the effervescent Wonderland told NPR Music’s Mountain Stage, “I wouldn’t recommend it for the faint of heart, but it sure is a good time.”

Recent Appearances on NPR's Jazz Night In America and Here And Now Keep Copeland Front and Center

“Shemekia Copeland is the greatest blues singer of her generation.”
—The Washington Post

“Copeland provides a soundtrack for contemporary America...powerful, ferocious, clear-eyed and hopeful...She’s in such control of her voice that she can scream at injustices before she soothes with loving hope. It sends shivers up your spine.”
—Living Blues

“Uncivil War is one of the boldest and most persuasive recordings of Copeland’s already distinguished career. Copeland’s incendiary and positively buoyant vocals [are] one of the great instruments in contemporary blues. A triumph.”
—The Chicago Tribune




DownBeat magazine has named celebrated singer Shemekia Copeland as its Blues Artist Of The Year, and her groundbreaking 2020 release Uncivil War as the Blues Album Of The Year in the magazine's just-released 69th Annual Critics' Poll. According to Copeland, "I can’t begin to say how honored I am to be singled out by the critics at DownBeat. When it comes to covering the music I love, DownBeat’s always been the granddaddy. A granddaddy who’s hip, wise and never grows old."

The DownBeat honors add to the list of awards Copeland has recently won. She received three 2020 Blues Music Awards, including Entertainer Of The Year and Contemporary Blues Album Of The Year for Uncivil War. Additionally, she won both the recent Living Blues magazine's Critics' and Readers' Awards for Album Of The Year and Blues Artist Of The Year (Female). It's not just in the United States where she wins awards. Copeland received the UK Blues Award for International Blues Artist Of The Year. Prior to that, UK tastemaker music magazine MOJO named Uncivil War the #1 Blues Album of 2020.

Since the release of Uncivil War, Copeland's profile has continued to grow. She was the subject of a Washington Post Sunday magazine story and appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition. She most recently was a guest on NPR's Here And Now discussing her life and career. And NPR's Jazz Night In America has produced an hour-long program featuring interviews with Copeland and others, along with music recorded at Dizzy's Club in New York City and at the 2021 Exit Zero Jazz Festival.

Copeland began her recording career with Alligator Records in 1998 at the age of 18. Since then, the three-time Grammy nominee has grown to become one of the most passionate and candid artists on today’s roots music scene.

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Listen to Weekend Edition
Listen to Here And Now
Listen to Jazz Night In America

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Copeland’s soulful and uncompromising Uncivil War tackles the problems of contemporary American life head on, with nuance, understanding, and a demand for change. It also brings Copeland’s fiercely independent, sultry R&B fire to songs more personal than political. NPR Music calls Shemekia “authoritative” and “confrontational” with “punchy defiance and potent conviction. It’s hard to imagine anyone staking a more convincing claim to the territory she’s staked out—a true hybrid of simmering, real-talking spirit and emphatic, folkie- and soul-style statement-making.”

When Shemekia first broke on the scene with her jaw-dropping Alligator Records debut CD Turn The Heat Up, she instantly became a blues and R&B force to be reckoned with. With each subsequent release -- Uncivil War is her ninth album -- Copeland’s music has evolved. She continues to broaden her musical vision, melding blues with more rootsy, Americana sounds, and singing about the world around her, shining light in dark places with confidence and well-timed humor. Her recordings have won her worldwide acclaim and dozens of awards. Her previous album, America’s Child, was named by MOJO magazine as the #1 blues release of 2018.

Shemekia Copeland has performed thousands of gigs at clubs, festivals and concert halls all over the world, and has appeared in films, on local and national television and radio, and in magazine and newspapers both domestically and internationally. She has performed on PBS’s Austin City Limits and was the subject of a six-minute feature on the PBS News Hour. Currently, Copeland can be heard hosting her own popular daily blues radio show on SiriusXM’s Bluesville.

The Chicago Tribune’s famed jazz critic Howard Reich says, “Shemekia Copeland is the greatest female blues vocalist working today. She pushes the genre forward, confronting racism, hate, xenophobia and other perils of our time. Regardless of subject matter, though, there’s no mistaking the majesty of Copeland’s instrument, nor the ferocity of her delivery. In effect, Copeland reaffirms the relevance of the blues.” The Philadelphia Inquirer succinctly states, “Shemekia Copeland is an antidote to artifice. She is a commanding presence, a powerhouse vocalist delivering the truth.”