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There’s a good reason why the Washington Post once proclaimed that Shemekia Copeland “reigns as the greatest blues singer of her generation.”

Copeland takes that praise in stride and carries on making blues about the trials and tribulations of our time, but with hope for a kinder and better future. And sometimes she just wants to rock it.

Blame It On Eve, her latest Alligator record, due for release on Aug. 30, encompasses all of the above – issues and problems (the title tune about reproductive rights) and sometimes just fun (Wine O’Clock).
Working with producer Will Kimbrough for the fourth time, the record includes some great guests such as her longtime pal Luther dickinson playing fantastic guitar on “Tough Mother” and her roots-rocker friend Alejandro Escovedo adding his haunting vocals to “Is There Anybody Up There?”

She also offers a version of Johnny Copeland’s, her late, great father, brokenhearted blues rocker “Down On Bended Knee.”

“With every record, we try to work with different artists” Shemekia said by telephone to preview her Saturday night headlining role at the Bayfront Blues 

Fest. “You know, I’ve known Luther and Cody (Dickinson – North Mississippi All-Stars) forever, so I’ve always wanted to work with those guys. I wanted to work with both of them, but I got a chance to work with Luther on this. And I’ve been a fan of Alejandro’s forever, so it just worked out. It really all happens kind of organically.”

While no special events are planned for the release of Blame It On Eve, Shemekia said “We’re going to make every tour date a party to celebrate the record.”

I last spoke with Shemekia in 2019, just after the release of her album America’s Child, which she admitted was about being a new mother and wanting to see a better world for her son. 
It’s a mission she remains on.

“Yeah, definitely. I think I’ll always be on that mission,” she said. “He’s almost eight years old now, and he’s such a little man. You know, he’s watching everything that I do. So, it’s important to me what I’m putting out there.”

A mention of seeing him dancing in the video for “Tough Mother” brings a smile to her voice.

“He knows the songs better than me,” she said. “I love bringing him out on tour, especially in the summertime when he’s out of school. He loves going to the shows.”

Is music in his future, as she followed her father?

“You know, he loves music. He likes to play drums. Goes to school of rock and all that stuff,” she said. “But I have no idea what this little boy will do. I just want him to be healthy and safe.”

Just before we spoke, Shemekia had returned from a tour of Europe to find a new hope in America with recent developments regarding President Biden deciding not to seek re-election and promoting Vice President Kamala Harris in his stead.

“I think if a woman was running the country, we’d be better off,” she said. “Men have been doing it for a whole lot of years, and they haven’t done a great job. So let’s let a woman handle it. Yeah? It’s very exciting. So we’ll see.”

She said the music world is much like the rest of the American workplace, where things political are better left unsaid because you don’t know where your workmate stands in these Divided States of America.
“It’s kind of become the norm not to talk about it, unless you’re looking for trouble, right?” she said. “The problem is, unfortunately, nobody can communicate anymore. You know what I’m saying? It’s, I’m right, you’re wrong, you know? And there are no conversations. It’s just fighting, and that’s the issue. But you would think that, you know, grown people can actually get together and have a conversation and help to fix the problems that we have going on in the world. And instead, no, everybody just gets together and fights like toddlers. It’s a shame.”

With the hope that things turn around soon, she adds, “It would be wonderful if it does. Get some grown ups in there, making grown-up decisions, having grown-up conversations and, oh, and trying to make a real difference in the world. You know, the problem, to me, the biggest problem, and always has been the biggest problem is greed. And if there were no greed, that would almost fix about every issue that we have in this country and others as well”