Keb' Mo' & Shawn Colvin

Over the past two decades, award-winning singer, songwriter, guitarist and contemporary blues artist Keb’ Mo’ has cultivated a reputation as a modern master of American roots music through the understated excellence of his live and studio performances. His TajMo project is a cross-generational collaboration with legendary blues musician Taj Mahal, merging the two artists’ distinctive voices and guitar styles. TajMo, which won the 2018 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album, features guest appearances by Sheila E., Joe Walsh, Lizz Wright and Bonnie Raitt. Keb’s songs have been recorded by B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Dixie Chicks, Joe Cocker, Robert Palmer and Tom Jones. His guitar playing inspired leading instrument makers Gibson Brands to issue the Keb’ Mo’ Signature Bluesmaster acoustic guitar and Martin Guitars to issue the HD-28KM Keb’ Mo’ Limited Edition Signature model. He’s collaborated with a host of artists, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Brown, Cassandra Wilson, Buddy Guy, Amy Grant, Solomon Burke and Little Milton among them. Keb’ wrote and performed the theme song for the smash sitcom Mike & Molly and was music composer for TV’s Memphis Beat. He’s been featured in TV and film, portraying Robert Johnson in the 1998 documentary Can’t You Hear The Wind Howl? The Life & Music of Robert Johnson, appearing three times on the series Touched By an Angel, and playing the ghostly bluesman Possum in John Sayles’ 2007 movie Honeydripper. Since its inception, Keb’ has been involved with the Playing For Change movement—created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music—and featured in many related videos and events.

Shawn Colvin stands out as a singular and enduring talent. Her songs are slow-release works of craft and catharsis that become treasured, lifetime companions for their listeners. Colvin is keen and warm-hearted storyteller, leavening even the toughest tales with tenderness, empathy, and a searing sense of humor. She has won three Grammy Awards, released more than a dozen albums, written a critically acclaimed memoir, maintained a nonstop national and international touring schedule, appeared on countless TV and radio programs, had her songs featured in major motion pictures, and created a remarkable canon of work. Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota, where she lived until she was 8. A small-town childhood in university town Carbondale, Illinois, drew her to the guitar by age 10. She made her first public appearance on the University of Illinois campus at 15. By the late 1970s, she was singing in a Western Swing band in Austin, Texas—the city she now calls home. Colvin moved to New York at decade’s end as a member of the Buddy Miller Band and met producer, guitarist, and co-writer John Leventhal, who inspired her to find her own voice as a songwriter. She began honing her skill and was soon signed to Columbia Records. Her 1989 first album, Steady On, produced by Leventhal, won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. Over several decades, she’s established herself as a captivating performer and revered storyteller, well-deserving of the commendation of her peers and the devoted audiences inspired by her artistry. She continues to reaffirm her status as a vital voice in music.