State Artist Marcia Ball

Description

Texas-born, Louisiana-raised pianist, songwriter and vocalist Marcia Ball, the 2018 Texas State Musician, has won worldwide fame and countless fans with her ability to captivate an audience every time she performs. Whether she’s igniting a full-scale roadhouse rhythm and blues party with her full band or casting a spell over the room as a solo artist or special guest, Ball’s rollicking Texas boogies, swampy New Orleans ballads and groove-laden Gulf Coast blues have made her a favorite with music lovers worldwide. Over the course of her five-decade career, Ball has recorded 17 albums — five of them GRAMMY Award-nominated – including six for Alligator Records. Ball is a profoundly soulful singer, a boundlessly creative pianist and a courageous, inventive songwriter. Her love of the road has led to years of soul-satisfying performances at festivals, concert halls and clubs. In 2023, the Texas Songwriters Association named Ball a Texas Music Legend. That same year Ball won the Living Blues Award for Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboards). The New York Times says, ‘Marcia Ball plays two-fisted New Orleans barrelhouse piano and sings in a husky, knowing voice about all the trouble men and women can get into on the way to a good time.’ Photo by Mary Keating Bruton.