Grammy Award-winning blues musician Keb’ Mo’ will perform live Thursday, Nov. 8, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“An Evening with Keb’ Mo’ Solo” is presented by UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center.
NPR Music called Keb’ Mo’ “a blues artist whose witty tunes will take some of those blues away.” Over the past two decades, he has cultivated a reputation as a modern master of American roots music through the understated excellence of his live and studio performances. Album after album, 14 in total, garnered him 11 Grammy nominations and four Grammy Awards, along with 11 Blues Foundation Awards and six BMI Awards for his work in TV and film. In 2017, Keb’ Mo’ released “TajMo,” a collaborative album with the legendary Taj Mahal. The multigenerational duo went on to tour the United States and Europe in support of their album, which has since earned a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.
The show is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are $58, $48, $38 and $10 for students. ASC members may receive $10 off single tickets (limit two). UAB faculty and staff may receive $15 off single tickets (limit two). A limited number of student, member, and faculty/staff tickets are available. For tickets, call 205-975-2787 or visit www.AlysStephens.org.
Join the center one hour before the show in the lobby for a performance-inspired conversation with Jamey McMahon and Roger Stephenson, leaders of Magic City Blues Society, about blues music and its role in Birmingham, Keb’ Mo’s talent and his musical collaborations.
The “Life Is Beautiful” Keb’Mo’ Meet and Greet Experience is $149, and includes one premium reserved seat in the first five rows, a meet-and-greet/photo opportunity with Keb’ Mo’, and more.
Artists who have recorded his songs include B.B. King, Buddy Guy, the Dixie Chicks, Joe Cocker, Robert Palmer, Tom Jones, Melissa Manchester, Solomon Burke and the Zac Brown Band, to name a few. The list of artist collaborations comprises a who’s who in the music industry: Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Jackson Browne, Natalie Cole, Lyle Lovett, India Arie, James Cotton, Bobby Rush, Timothy B. Schmit, Marcus Miller and many more. His guitar playing has garnered him two invitations to Eric Clapton’s acclaimed Crossroads Festival and has inspired leading instrument makers Gibson Brands to issue the Keb’ Mo’ Signature Bluesmaster and Bluesmaster Royale acoustic guitars and Martin Guitars to issue the HD-28KM Keb’ Mo’ Limited Edition Signature model.
In early 2017, nine songs from his extensive catalog were featured in the film “Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Higher Ground” on the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel. This film was also his first feature film lead acting role. Keb’ Mo’ appears in an episode on the CMT series “Sun Records” as Howlin’ Wolf and can be heard playing his original song “Operator.” He has played his iconic version of “America The Beautiful” in the series finale of Aaron Sorkin’s “The West Wing,” as well as at the actual White House for President Barack Obama.