Marcia Ball plays Shank Hall in Milwaukee on Dec. 1 and Fitzgerald's, in Chicago's west suburbs, Dec. 2-3. Marcia's a New Orleans-style keyboard player and blues singer with a hot band -- a blend of Dr. John's piano and Irma Thomas's vocals. Good politics, too.
She was a perennial Summerfest act but hasn't played Milwaukee for a couple of years. Her Shank show is a benefit for WMSE radio. If you don't know her music, check it out on her website
Marcia's husband and I were in Vietnam together, and since we reconnected 20 years ago it's really expanded my musical horizons -- New Orleans, Jazzfest, the Texas music scene (they live in Austin, although Marcia grew up in Cajun country just across the Louisiana line.)
Marcia's music is upbeat, happy stuff that might make you want to dance (it has that effect on a lot of people.) She's won a bunch of W.C. Handy awards and has been nominated for a Grammy several times. She's a major act on the Gulf Coast, less known in the Midwest.
See you at Shank?