Shemekia Copeland, Blame It On Eve Review

by Nolan Conghaile

Shemekia Copeland is a GRAMMY-nominated vocalist with multiple Blues Music Awards. She has opened for The Rolling Stones and regularly tours worldwide. Her modern blues style is rooted in American music with Americana, rock, and country strands. Copeland’s Blame It On Eve reflects her love of various American roots music. That open-mindedness has made her comfortable incorporating banjos, fiddles, and strings throughout her twelve-track project release on Alligator Records in August of 2024. It is significant in Copeland’s discography, noting the incorporation of American roots music and Copeland’s distinct ability to blend tradition with contemporary themes.

Copeland has long been a voice for modern-day blues with grace in confronting relevant personal and societal issues head-on. For example, the title track, “Blame It On Eve,” has a catchy melody upon which hands lyrics that revisit the age-old practice of placing the burden of blame on women. Copeland’s raw, powerful delivery drives home the biting lyrics of “while a man is tough, a woman’s a bitch. Who needs a trial? Burn that witch! Blame it on Eve.” These lyrics speak to the double standards women have endured throughout history.

Musically, Copeland’s bluesy vocals are sounded by an outstanding band, including Will Kimbrough’s bluesy guitar and a resonating baritone saxophone. The song is set to a groove that mixes blues, Americana, Motown, and country. The rolling drums and scorching guitar lines add to the song’s intensity, turning it into a musical manifesto for female strength.

“Tee Tot Payne” finds Copeland using the blues to illuminate the Black figures who helped shape American music. Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne, the blues guitarist who mentored country legend Hank Williams, serves as the focal point of this narrative. With lines like “The old man taught him blues guitar, turned that boy into a star,” Copeland pays homage to Payne’s vital, yet underappreciated, role in shaping the sound of American roots music. This blend of blues and country serves as a history lesson and a reminder of the intertwined nature of these two genres, bringing to light a legacy often left out of mainstream conversations about country music.

“Tough Mother” brings a familiar rock blues pattern and steady bass drum pattern to support Copeland as she engages us with her powerful vocal delivery. The song develops as the bass enters, the drums expand, and Kimbrough adds more distortion and bite to his guitar fills.

“Wine O’Clock” focuses on showing Copeland’s traditional blues chops. Set to a traditional blues shuffle and adventurous expanded blues progress, Copeland delivers all the hallmarks of a great blues singer in her tone, phrasing, vibrato, and blue notes. “Wine O’Clock” feels like a celebration of both the blues and Copeland’s place within it—lighthearted and playful in its theme but serious in its musicality and vocal strength.

Blame It On Eve reaffirms Shemekia Copeland’s status as a modern blues powerhouse, demonstrating her ability to blend tradition with contemporary themes in a way few artists can. Whether she’s channeling female empowerment on the title track or delving into personal and historical narratives in songs like “Tee Tot Payne” and “Tough Mother,” Copeland delivers with a voice that is both commanding and deeply resonant. Her collaboration with Kimbrough on guitar, along with the thoughtful songwriting from John Hahn, results in an album that resounds with the genre’s roots as it expands to other genres for inspiration. From the fiery rock-infused blues to the soulful ballads, Blame It On Eve covers a wide range without ever losing sight of the blues.

With this album, Copeland showcases her remarkable vocal chops and her ability to tell stories that matter—stories of strength, survival, and resilience. Blame It On Eve proves that the blues is not a genre stuck in the past but one that continues to grow and speak to the modern world.