MARCIA BALL
“Smokefree venues have saved my life and my career. I hope that 15 years of not inhaling secondhand smoke has limited the damage done by my first 35 years of playing in smoky bars. It was a hard slog to get people to understand how important it is to consider other people when they light up and to maybe stop smoking all together. The American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation fought that battle for us and the result is cleaner air and a healthier environment for musicians and fans alike. We couldn’t have done it without Smokefree Music Cities and we are so grateful. My lungs, my hair and skin, my clothes, and my instruments all thank you!”
Marcia Ball is an American blues singer and pianist raised in Vinton, Louisiana. She was described by USA Today as “a sensation, saucy singer and superb pianist… where Texas stomp-rock and Louisiana blues-swamp meet.” The Boston Globe described her music as “an irresistible celebratory blend of rollicking, two-fisted New Orleans piano, Louisiana swamp rock and smoldering Texas blues from a contemporary storyteller.
Marcia holds 11 Blues Music Awards, 10 Living Blues Awards, and five GRAMMY award nominations. She has been inducted into the Gulf Coast Music Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, and in 2018, into the Austin City Limits Halls of Fame.
“I still love the feel of the wheels rolling,” she says, “and the energy in a room full of people ready to go wherever it is we take them.” Marcia Ball will shine a light into the darkness, making the world a brighter place one song at a time.
Photo By Mary Bruton