Shemekia Copeland & Jontavious Willis in South Orange

Shemekia Copeland is an American blues and soul singer, born in Harlem, New York, in 1979. The daughter of Texas blues guitarist Johnny Copeland, she made her recording debut with Turn the Heat Up! and later expanded her roots-based sound on albums including Talking to Strangers, 33 1/3, America’s Child and Uncivil War. As a teenager, she opened concerts for Johnny Copeland and began touring before launching her own recording career. She went on to headline blues clubs, theatres and festivals, and in 2012 performed in the concert In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues at the White House.

Jontavious Willis is an American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter from Greenville, Georgia. He writes and performs country blues rooted in early acoustic traditions, and his albums include Blue Metamorphosis, Spectacular Class, produced by Keb’ Mo’, and West Georgia Blues. In 2017, he opened for Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ on their TajMo tour, presenting his own material and traditional blues repertoire in theatres across the United States. He later performed at Newport Folk Festival and the Chicago Blues Festival.