Acorn Music Festival: DAY ONE featuring Alejandro Escovedo and Shemekia Copeland
Friday, Jun. 16 | 5:00pm ET (4:00pm CT)
The Acorn Music Festival celebrates the music and artistry rooted in the traditions of American music.
DAY ONE of The Acorn Music Festival features headliners Alejandro Escovedo and Shemekia Copeland. Friday’s first show starts at 5pm ET, with multiple performances leading up to Shemekia and Alejandro’s headlining shows.
Learn more about The Acorn Music Festival
Headliners
Alejandro Escovedo:
Friday, June 16 9:15pm ET
Crossing borders, jumping barriers, taking risks, betting it all: that’s the path Alejandro Escovedo has been taking in his lifelong search for the heart of rock and roll. A celebrated singer and songwriter, Escovedo has as eclectic a background and body of work as any rock artist of his generation.
Shemekia Copeland:
Friday, June 16 7:00pm ET
Award-winning blues, soul and Americana singer Shemekia Copeland possesses one of the most instantly recognizable and deeply soulful roots music voices of our time. She is beloved worldwide for the fearlessness, honesty and humor of her revelatory music, as well as for delivering each song she performs with unmatched passion.
Additional performances:
The Bergamot • Buddy Pearson 3 • Nikki Morgan
About the Artists:
Alejandro Escovedo
Crossing borders, jumping barriers, taking risks, betting it all: that’s the path Alejandro Escovedo has been taking in his lifelong search for the heart of rock and roll. A celebrated singer and songwriter, Escovedo has as eclectic a background and body of work as any rock artist of his generation. As comfortable performing with a string ensemble as he is with an amped-up power trio, and as likely to bare his soul in his lyrics as he is to display some serious rock & roll swagger, Escovedo had already played an important role in punk (with the Nuns), roots rock (the True Believers), and alt-country (Rank & File) before he launched a solo career that's seen him work with everyone from John Cale to Bruce Springsteen. Beginning with 1992's Gravity, Escovedo's music has been consistently literate, ambitious, and eclectic, with 2001's A Man Under the Influence exploring different genres and approaches from track to track, while 2008's Real Animal and 2016's Burn Something Beautiful focused on passionate, guitar-based rock & roll. 2018's The Crossing (and its 2020 Spanish-language counterpart La Cruzada) told a richly detailed story of the immigrant experience.
Shemekia Copeland
Award-winning blues, soul and Americana singer Shemekia Copeland possesses one of the most instantly recognizable and deeply soulful roots music voices of our time. She is beloved worldwide for the fearlessness, honesty and humor of her revelatory music, as well as for delivering each song she performs with unmatched passion. Copeland — winner of the 2021 Blues Music Award for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year— connects with her audience on an intensely personal level, taking them with her on what The Wall Street Journal calls “a consequential ride” of “bold and timely blues.” NPR Music says Shemekia sings with “punchy defiance and potent conviction.” The Houston Chronicle describes her songs as “resilient pleas for a kinder tomorrow.”
The Bergamot
American indie folk/rock duo The Bergamot is known for their songwriting, uplifting music and entertaining shows. Formed in 2010 in South Bend, Indiana the duo features Jillian Speece (vocals/cajón) and Nathaniel Paul Hoff (vocals/guitar/keyboard). Learn more
Buddy Pearson 3
Jazz trio of Buddy Pearson on upright and electric bass, Artis Timberlake Brown on piano and Mike Shell on drums. Learn more
Nikki Morgan
Nikki Morgan was born and raised in North Carolina but came into her own in Chicago so you can think of her as a: Southern/Midwestern Country-City girl. Learn more
The Acorn Music Festival takes place inside The Acorn theater.
