“I’m excited about performing at the August Wilson Center,” said Copeland.” It’ll be nice to perform in a different venue in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is such a great town and the fans there are great.”
Copeland tore the roof of off Club Cafe in October to promote her eighth album “Outskirts of Love,” which was released in September on Alligator Records.
The album was nominated for a Best Blues Album Grammy Award. Produced by Oliver Wood and Executive Produced by John Hahn, “Outskirts of Love” boasts guests artists Robert Randolph on Steel Guitar, Billy Gibbons on guitar and Alvin Youngblood Hart on guitar and vocals.
“This album is my greatest achievement. We’re really enjoying touring with this record. The fans are still loving it. The fans are why we do this. If it wasn’t for the fans we wouldn’t be able to do this. We’re blessed to do what we do. If it wasn’t for the fans you’d be the best singer in the world…in the shower.”
Copeland comes from a musical family. Her father was Texas blues guitarist and singer Johnny Copeland. She was born in Harlem and her father recognized her musical talent early in is daughter’s life. He encouraged her to sing at home and brought her on stage to sing at the Cotton Club when she was eight years old. When she was 15 and her father’s health began to fail, Copeland knew she was born to sing.
A Year later she began joining her father on his tours. She began opening—and sometimes stealing—the show. She recalls that her father would go out and do gigs so she could gain notoriety.
She stepped out of her father’s shadow in 1998 with her first CD,”Turn the Heat Up.” She followed that up with her Grammy-nominated “Wicked.” “The Soul Truth” followed 2005’s Dr. John-produced “Talking to Strangers.” In that time she earned eight Blues Music Awards, a myriad of Living Blues Awards including Blues Artist of the Year in 2010. In 2012 she released the Grammy-nominated record, “33 1/3.”
Also that year she performed at the White House for the President and Mrs. Obama. She performed with Mick Jagger who sent her a bottle of Champagne afterward.
Copeland has perfumed with great singers including Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Carlos Santana. She has opened for the Rolling Stones and has entertained U.S. troops in Iraq and Kuwait.
Copeland’s amazing talent and down-to-earth personality are why she has been chosen to perform at the August Wilson Center.
“The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has a reputation for presenting artists of all backgrounds and has a long, dedicated track record of presenting the African diaspora in all genres,” said Janis Burley Wilson, Vice President Strategic Partnership and Community Engagement and Director of Jazz Programs at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “Musicians, orators, dancers, visual artists, singers etc. This is nothing new for us we’ve been doing this work for a long time. The intimate setting of the August Wilson Center lends well to the experience we’d like to create for the audience. Blues was an important aspect of August Wilson’s work and we plan to present Blues artists when the opportunity presents itself.”
Copeland’s energy-packed shows leave the fans, which she readily interacts with after each performance, awe-struck.
“We really love what we’re doing and we love entertaining the people and that’s who we do it for and we’re very excited to come back to Pittsburgh. It’s very cool,” said Copeland who tours London, Amsterdam and Switzerland after Pittsburgh. “Blues fans are all over the world.
They really support the music and that’s great. It’s music for your soul. There’s music that makes you dance and music that makes you laugh and music that makes you cry and music that makes you feel a way that you don’t even know how you feel and then there’s the Blues that makes you feel like all those things all at once.”
“This album is my greatest achievement. We’re really enjoying touring with this record. The fans are still loving it. The fans are why we do this. If it wasn’t for the fans we wouldn’t be able to do this. We’re blessed to do what we do. If it wasn’t for the fans you’d be the best singer in the world…in the shower.”
Copeland comes from a musical family. Her father was Texas blues guitarist and singer Johnny Copeland. She was born in Harlem and her father recognized her musical talent early in is daughter’s life. He encouraged her to sing at home and brought her on stage to sing at the Cotton Club when she was eight years old. When she was 15 and her father’s health began to fail, Copeland knew she was born to sing.
A Year later she began joining her father on his tours. She began opening—and sometimes stealing—the show. She recalls that her father would go out and do gigs so she could gain notoriety.
She stepped out of her father’s shadow in 1998 with her first CD,”Turn the Heat Up.” She followed that up with her Grammy-nominated “Wicked.” “The Soul Truth” followed 2005’s Dr. John-produced “Talking to Strangers.” In that time she earned eight Blues Music Awards, a myriad of Living Blues Awards including Blues Artist of the Year in 2010. In 2012 she released the Grammy-nominated record, “33 1/3.”
Also that year she performed at the White House for the President and Mrs. Obama. She performed with Mick Jagger who sent her a bottle of Champagne afterward.
Copeland has perfumed with great singers including Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Carlos Santana. She has opened for the Rolling Stones and has entertained U.S. troops in Iraq and Kuwait.
Copeland’s amazing talent and down-to-earth personality are why she has been chosen to perform at the August Wilson Center.
“The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has a reputation for presenting artists of all backgrounds and has a long, dedicated track record of presenting the African diaspora in all genres,” said Janis Burley Wilson, Vice President Strategic Partnership and Community Engagement and Director of Jazz Programs at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “Musicians, orators, dancers, visual artists, singers etc. This is nothing new for us we’ve been doing this work for a long time. The intimate setting of the August Wilson Center lends well to the experience we’d like to create for the audience. Blues was an important aspect of August Wilson’s work and we plan to present Blues artists when the opportunity presents itself.”
Copeland’s energy-packed shows leave the fans, which she readily interacts with after each performance, awe-struck.
“We really love what we’re doing and we love entertaining the people and that’s who we do it for and we’re very excited to come back to Pittsburgh. It’s very cool,” said Copeland who tours London, Amsterdam and Switzerland after Pittsburgh. “Blues fans are all over the world.
They really support the music and that’s great. It’s music for your soul. There’s music that makes you dance and music that makes you laugh and music that makes you cry and music that makes you feel a way that you don’t even know how you feel and then there’s the Blues that makes you feel like all those things all at once.”
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