About Keb’ Mo’
It’s a little over 2,000 miles from Compton to Nashville, but drop the needle on Keb’ Mo’s captivating new album, Good
To Be, and you can make the trip in a cool three-and-a-half-minutes flat.
“I’ve lived in Nashville for the last eleven years,” says Keb’, “but Compton has always been my home. Finding a way to
connect those two places on this album was a powerful thing for me. It felt like something I needed to do.”
Written partially in Nashville and partially in the Compton house Keb’ grew up in, Good To Be is a celebration of roots and resilience, of growth and gratitude, of hope and memory. The songs here draw on country, soul, and blues to forge a sound that transcends genre and geography, weaving together past and present into a heartwarming tapestry spanning more than forty years of sonic evolution. Though Keb’ worked with a wide variety of collaborators on the project—country legend Vince Gill produced three tracks, while famed producer Tom Hambridge (B.B. King, Buddy Guy) helmed several more, and special guests like Darius Rucker, Kristin Chenoweth, and Old Crow Medicine Show appear throughout—it remains a deeply cohesive work, one anchored by the five-time GRAMMY winner’s magnetic vocal
delivery and relentless optimism. “It’s good to be here / It’s good to be anywhere,” Keb’ sings on the album’s easygoing title track. “It’s good to be back / Good to be home again.”
“I believe that music has the power to heal,” Keb’ explains, “and I wanted this album to make people feel good. I wanted it to bring joy and make them maybe think about where they come from and the journeys that brought them to where they are.”
For Keb’ Mo’, that journey began nearly half a century ago, when he landed his first major gig in Papa John Creach’s band at the age of 21. Over the course of the next 20 years, Keb’ would go on to establish himself as a respected guitarist, songwriter, and arranger, and though he recorded a one-off album in 1980 under his birth name, Kevin Moore, it wasn’t until 1994 that he would introduce the world to Keb’ Mo’ with the release of his widely acclaimed self-titled debut. Critics were quick to take note of Keb’s modern, genre-bending take on old school sounds, and two years later, he garnered his first GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album with Just Like You. In the decades to come, Keb’ would take home four more GRAMMY Awards; top the Billboard Blues Chart seven times; perform everywhere from Carnegie Hall
to The White House; collaborate with many including Taj Mahal, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, The Chicks, and Lyle Lovett; have compositions recorded and sampled by artists as diverse as B.B. King, Zac Brown, and BTS; release signature guitars with both Gibson and Martin; appear in and compose music for films and TV shows like The Blues, Mike and Molly, and Can’t You Hear The Wind Howl; and earn the Americana Music Association’s 2021 award for Lifetime Achievement in Performance. NPR’s Mountain Stage hailed him as “one of the most decorated living blues
artists,” while The New Yorker raved that “few musicians emblematize the blues like Kevin Moore,” and The New York
Times praised “the subtle twists of his songwriting” along with his knack for “facing down desolation with a grin.”
About Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin stopped the industry in its tracks with her arresting 1989 debut, Steady On. The following spring, Colvin took home the GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album, establishing herself as a mainstay in the singer-songwriter genre. In the ensuing 30 years, Colvin has won three GRAMMY Awards, released thirteen superlative albums, written a critically acclaimed memoir, maintained a non-stop national and international touring schedule, appeared on countless television and radio programs, had her songs featured in major motion pictures and created a remarkable canon of work.
Colvin triumphed at the 1998 GRAMMY Awards, winning both Record and Song of the Year for the Top 10 hit "Sunny
Came Home," from the platinum-selling album A Few Small Repairs.
Her inspiring and candid memoir, Diamond In The Rough, was published in by Harper Collins in 2012. Diamond In The Rough looks back over Colvin's rich lifetime of highs and lows with stunning insight and candor. Through its pages we witness the story of a woman honing her artistry, finding her voice, and making herself whole.
Shawn Colvin was recognized for her career accomplishments when she was honored with the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Trailblazer Award by the Americana Music Association. Presenting her with this prestigious award was Bonnie Raitt. Said Raitt, "She's simply one of the best singers I've ever heard — and a truly gifted and deep songwriter and guitarist… She was groundbreaking when she emerged and continues to inspire me and the legions of fans and other singer/songwriters coming up in her wake."
In September 2019, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Steady On, Colvin released a newly-recorded version of her
landmark debut. Colvin crafts a truly mesmerizing reinvention, performing the album with just her voice and guitar. The Steady On 30th Anniversary Acoustic Edition strips each song to the core, placing Colvin's songwriting masterclass on full display. "I've played these songs countless times, primarily as a solo acoustic artist," she says. "all in all, this is the incarnation that feels most genuine. This represents who I am as an artist and all I ever wanted to be, and I believe it doesits predecessor proud."
Colvin was recently honored with an induction into the 2019 Austin City Limits Hall of Fame, alongside legendary artists Lyle Lovett and Buddy Guy. In a moving induction speech, Jackson Browne praised her as "ineffable" — 'that which is impossible to express in words' — and extolled, "Not many writers are able to do what Shawn does. It's a very special way of relating what really matters. It takes an original to get our attention. Shawn is utterly original in her singing, and original in what she speaks about in her songs."
Over the course of three decades, Shawn Colvin has established herself as a captivating performer and a revered storyteller, well-deserving of the commendation of her peers and the devoted audiences who have been inspired by her artistry.