News

The Fellowship Award Ceremonies will be held in Washington D.C. in September 2006 and include a banquet at the Library of Congress, an awards presentation on Capitol Hill, and a concert at the Strathmore Center in Bethesda, MD.

Fellowship recipients are nominated by the public, and then judged by a panel of experts in folk and traditional arts on the basis of their continuing artistic accomplishments and contributions as practitioners and teachers. This year a nine-member panel reviewed 217 nominations for the 11 fellowships.

On May 11, 2006, The Blues Foundation announced the recipients of the 2006 Blues Music Awards (formerly the W.C. Handy Awards). Two Alligator recording artists received honors: Marcia Ball was named the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year and Mavis Staples won for Soul/Blues-Female Artist of the Year.

The Blues Music Awards ceremony and concert were held May 11, 2006 in Memphis, TN, at the Cook Convention Center. Alligator award recipients are as follows:

MARCIA BALL
+Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year - Marcia Ball

MAVIS STAPLES
+Soul/Blues-Female Artist of the Year - Mavis Staples

SAFFIRE-THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN TO APPEAR ON NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO’S TALK OF THE NATION

Saffire--the Uppity Blues Women will appear live for a full hour on National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation tomorrow, Thursday, April 27. Most NPR stations air the show from 3:00pm to 4:00pm EST, but please check the Talk of the Nation website to confirm your local station's airtime: http://tinyurl.com/hxu4v.

Saffire will discuss their music and their brand new CD, DELUXE EDITION, and perform three songs.

Hosted by Neal Conan, Talk of the Nation offers call-in listeners the opportunity to join enlightening discussions with decision-makers, authors, musicians, and artists from around the world.  Talk of the Nation airs on over 250 stations nationally as well as on NPR Worldwide. 

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SOUL AND BLUES SINGER SHEMEKIA COPELAND TO HOST WEEKLY BLUES SHOW ON SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO

Shemekia Copeland’s Blues Show To Launch April 22

Grammy®-nominated soul and blues singer Shemekia Copeland will host her own weekly blues radio show exclusively on SIRIUS satellite radio beginning April 22, 2006. Shemekia Copeland’s Blues Show will air on Saturdays from 1:00pm to 7:00pm ET on SIRIUS Blues channel 74. Copeland couldn’t be more excited, saying, “What kind of crazy people are working at SIRIUS to let me loose with a microphone every Saturday afternoon?”

Copeland, the daughter of the late blues master Johnny Clyde Copeland, burst on the scene in 1997 with her debut CD, TURN THE HEAT UP when she was just 19. She followed that with the Grammy®-nominated WICKED in 2000, TALKING TO STRANGERS (produced by Dr. John) in 2002, and most recently, THE SOUL TRUTH (produced by Steve Cropper) in 2005.

For her SIRIUS show, Copeland will share stories of her life in the blues and play blues songs both familiar and obscure. “I warned them,” said Copeland. “I’m taking over the airwaves. It’s gonna be great.”

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MARCIA BALL TO APPEAR ON NATIONALLY SYNDICATED PROGRAM, MICHAEL FELDMAN'S WHAD'YA KNOW?

Singer/pianist/vocalist Marcia Ball will appear on the nationally syndicated radio program Whad'Ya Know? on Saturday, March 25, 2006. She will perform and talk with host Michael Feldman during the first hour of the show. Go to www.notmuch.com for local stations and broadcast times.

ERIC LINDELL TO PLAY MAIN STAGE AT NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & HERITAGE FESTIVAL

Newly signed Alligator artist Eric Lindell, whose debut release Change In The Weather hits the streets on April 4, will perform on the main stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 5. Early press and radio response to his CD is coming in and it's simply astonishing. OffBeat, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Singer & Musician magazine, Harp, Amazon.com, WXRT-FM radio, Santa Rosa Press Telegram, Vintage Guitar magazine and many others are already singing Lindell's praises.

SOPRANOS STARS PAY A VISIT TO GUITAR SHORTY

While performing in Chicago at Buddy Guy's Legends nightclub on Friday, March 17, Alligator recording star Guitar Shorty received a visit from cast members of the acclaimed HBO show The Sopranos. Steven Van Zandt, James Gandolfini, Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa stayed the entire last set. "Little Steven," as he is known when playing guitar with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, could not resist the temptation, and he joined Shorty on stage for an extended, impromptu jam session. Shorty is currently at work on a follow-up CD to his wildly successful Watch Your Back.

Alligator Records, the country's largest contemporary blues label, is celebrating its 35th anniversary with two releases hitting the street on April 4, 2006. The first is a one-of-a-kind 2-CD set: ALLIGATOR RECORDS 35 X 35 -- 35 SONGS, 35 YEARS OF GENUINE HOUSEROCKIN' MUSIC, in which Alligator president Bruce Iglauer and staff look back, in chronological order, at highlights from artists’ debut releases for the label. The other release, Eric Lindell’s CHANGE IN THE WEATHER, looks forward, with an album whose completely original, roosty, funky music and hook-filled, cliche-free songs will launch Lindell into the musical mainstream.