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DEBRA POWER

Barrelhouse Maven of the Blues

About
Debra Power

Timeline

 

2014

• Keyboard Player of the Year CBMA (Calgary Blues Music Awards)

2016

• Released debut album EVEN REDHEADS GET THE BLUES

• Solo/Duo Semi-finalist at the IBC (International Blues Challenge) in Memphis Tennessee

• Nominated for WCMA (West Coast Music Award) for BLUES ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• ISC (International Songwriting Competition) Semi-finalist for original song STREETS OF HEAVEN

• Featured performer at Calgary International Bluesfest

• Featured guest on Holger Peterson's Natch'l Blues Radio Show

• Awarded BLUES RECORDING OF THE YEAR at YYCMA's (Calgary Music Awards)

 

2017

• Nominated for BEST NEW ARTIST at Maple Blues Awards

• Showcased at Toronto Blues Summit

• Opened for Charlie Musslewhite and Elvin Bishop at Jack Singer Hall in Calgary

• Opened the Edmonton Bluesfest as a solo performer

2018

• Solo/Duo Semi-finalist at the IBC (International Blues Challenge) in Memphis Tennessee

• ISC (International Songwriting Competition) Finalist for original song TEMPTATION

• Opened for Eddie Shaw (Muddy Water's Saxophonist) at the Calgary Midwinter Bluesfest

 

2019

• Released sophomore album THAT'S HOW I ROLL

2020

• ISC (International Songwriting Competition) Semi-finalist for original song IF WE HAVEN'T GOT LOVE

• Awarded 2ND BLUES RECORDING OF THE YEAR at YYCMA's (Calgary Music Awards)

2021

• Performed via Live Stream for Alberta Music's 35th Anniversary Special

• Performed via Live Stream for International Women in Blues Virtual Showcase

• Performed via Live Stream for CBTV (Calgary Blues TV Network) for Calgary Midwinter Bluesfest

• Released original Tribute song BEFORE MY TIME March 30

• Nominated for WCMA (Western Canadian Music Award) for BLUES ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• Performed for Calgary International Bluesfest

• Performed for Edmonton Bluesfest Slim

2022

Released single WHAT COLOUR IS LOVE January 9

• Released third album I'M NOT FROM CHICAGO February 6

• First Round Grammy Nomination Traditional Blues Recording for I'M NOT FROM CHICAGO

• Nominated for PIANO/KEYBOARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR Maple Blues Awards.

2023

  • Performed Showcase for the Galaxie Agency at B.B. King's in Memphis Tennessee, Jan 25 

  • Album I'M NOT FROM CHICAGO nominated in Top 5 finalists for BEST SELF PRODUCED CD at the INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE (IBC) week of Jan 25-28

Pianist, singer and songwriter Debra Power is known for her powerhouse vocals and boogie woogie keyboard skills, having built a long list of performance/recording credits across Canada and in the U.S.

Debra was weaned on Big Band music growing up, her father a bandleader during the dance era. Encouraged by her parents, Debra studied piano in her youth. In high school she formed her first band, an all-girls group that played local concerts and venues. She then headed off to study music at Memorial University of Newfoundland, where she majored in voice. This period also saw her launch her professional career, where she began carving her broad skill set and gaining experience in R&B and Rock & Roll bands, touring Eastern Canada.

Moving to Alberta in the late 80's, Debra further expanded her repertoire playing in country bands and performing at feature venues such as the Calgary Stampede. She briefly returned to the Windsor/Detroit area, performing piano bars and festivals before returning to Calgary to settle down, marry and raise her daughter.

Debra's studio work has included a solo work of original songs, gaining radio airplay on Holger Peterson's 'Natural Blues' program, and on numerous radio stations in Detroit. Her playing can also be heard on several commercial advertisements.

The Calgary blues scene embraced Debra's great talent as a solo performer and in ensembles, recording/performing in a variety of settings with Canadian greats including Tim Williams, Bill Johnson, Back Alley John and Johnny V, to name a few. She's become a fixture on the Calgary club scene, and has been a featured performer at the Calgary International Blues Festival as well as Calgary Midwinter Bluesfest, where among her many performances, she backed the great Eddie Shaw.

Debra has been a featured performer at the Calgary and Edmonton International Blues Festivals.
Representing Southern Alberta in the Solo/Duo Category of the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, Debra reached the semi-finals in the years 2016 and 2018. She captured the CBMA Award for Keyboard Player of the Year (2014) and the award for Blues Album of the Year at the inaugural YYC Music Awards (2016). She received nominations for Blues Artist of the Year at the WCMA's (2016) and for Best New Artist at the Maple Blues Awards (2017). Debra was asked to showcase at the Toronto Blues Summit 2017, and that year also saw her open for Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musslewhite at Calgary's prestigious Jack Singer Concert Hall. In 2020, Debra was awarded the YYCMA Blues Recording of the Year for her " That's How I Roll" release.

In 2017, Debra's original song, Streets of Heaven was a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition blues category, and in 2018 she was a finalist with her original song Temptation. In 2020, Debra's song If We Haven't Got Love was a semi-finalist iin the the global competition.

Debra's debut release, Even Redheads Get The Blues (2016), has garnered rave reviews and wide airplay across North America and in Europe. May, 2019, saw the release of Debra's latest CD, That's How I Roll, another great album of originals featuring some of the nation's finest musicians. That's How I Roll continues to receive extensive airplay and brilliant reviews, coming in at 120 out of 200 on the 2020 Roots Music Report's Contemporary Blues charts.

February 2022 saw the release of Debra's I'm Not From Chicago, and has gained worldwide airplay almost overnight! The all original album features some of her strongest writing to date, including the hit single, What Colour Is Love, her song becoming a theme during Black History Month for its powerful message, delivered by two of the finest voices in blues today, Debra Power and Keeshea Pratt.

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Gil Anthony, Blues Power 

"Mixing the traditional sound with the contemporary, her songs tell a story or send a message which is a gift for all good songwriters."
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