Performers

	Shemekia Copeland Shemekia Copeland was born in Harlem in 1979. Her father was the late Texas blues guitar legend Johnny Clyde Copeland. She says, "My music is rooted in blues, but it's different. I'm singing about my era. I'm here and I'm singing about now and not yesterday." She's played with Buddy Guy and B.B. King, and has shared the stage with Taj Mahal, Dr. John and Koko Taylor, among many others. Shemekia was named the Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year at the 2005 W.C. Handy Awards and she is nominated for this year’s Blues Music Award in the same category. Her performance of “Who Stole My Radio?” written by John Hahn and Joe Hudson has also been nominated as Song of the Year.
	Anthony Gomes Anthony Gomes is an artist who has fused the sum of his influences into something fresh and exciting. He draws from Soul, Gospel, Rock, and R&B, and blends it all together with blues, Gomes has created a sound unique to himself and is leaving his imprint on American Roots music. The Des Moines Register says, “"Young and Canadian are two things that aren't immediately associated with the blues, but Anthony Gomes proves that music can transcend race, age and international borders. His lively R&B infused guitar makes Gomes accessible to all kinds of music fans."
	Watermelon Slim Bill 'Watermelon Slim' Homans and the Workers have a southern-style, blue-collar approach to the blues that has met with resounding reaction from newfound fans, critics, promoters and the grass roots blues scene in venues all across the country. With three albums in four years, the blues community officially recognizes Watermelon Slim as one of the best contemporary international blues artists. He was nominated for a 2005 W.C. Handy Award for Best New Artist Debut.
	Lemuel Sheppard Kansas’s best-known traditional acoustic blues musician, Lemuel Sheppard has received international recognition for his performances of rare African American traditional music and blues. He’s performed before enthusiastic crowds during tours in South America and South Africa. In 1999, he was selected by a Congressional committee to represent Kansas for a solo concert at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. This vocalist and guitarist has brought his special blend of folklore and blues to every part of Kansas for almost 20 years. Sheppard entertains and informs his audiences with traditional music and cultural information.
	Queen Bey Queen Bey has a wide repertoire of jazz and blues standards and even innovative and often unknown songs that are drawn from her first-hand experiences working with the legends of jazz and blues. Queen has a natural and understated approach to the material and Variety magazine says that makes her “a solid crowd pleaser". Queen has performed with B.B. King, The Platters and the late jazz pianist Earl Garner and has received rave reviews in national entertainment magazines. Her most recent CD is entitled "So This is London". She has also acted on stage and television and in film, including Broadway musicals. Dr. Leonard Brown, African American Studies Northeastern University, Boston says: Ms. Bey "epitomizes the true jazz singer, in that she comes from a vocal tradition that is rooted in older African American Musics such as blues, spirituals, and gospel. You can hear her command and understanding of these powerful singing traditions when she performs. Her vocal stylings are outstanding and she is a contemporary master continuing the tradition of great singers like Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dinah Washington."
	Cephas & Wiggins As a young man, John Cephas toured on the gospel circuit. After a stint in the Army during the Korean War, he went through a variety of jobs that included professional gospel singer, carpenter, and Atlantic fisherman. By the 1960s, Cephas was starting to make a living from his music and, since forming a duo with Wiggins in 1977, John has performed all over the world. Phil Wiggins' harmonica sound developed from listening to piano and horn players, as well harmonica legends. In addition to being a renowned harmonica player, Wiggins is also a gifted songwriter and singer whose material has helped to define the Cephas and Wiggins sound. As a harmonica-guitar duo, Cephas and Wiggins are uniquely able to exemplify the synthesis of African and European elements which co-exist in the blues. Much of the melody and imagery is Western, but the call and response interplay between the harmonica and guitar, the complimentary rhythms, and the microtonal slurs generated by “stretched” guitar strings and “bent” harmonica notes are all quintessentially African.