Bekka BramlettMaybe you don't know the name Bekka Bramlett, but odds are you've heard her sing.
Bramlett, tonight's Nightfall headliner, has one of the deepest resumes in Nashville, where she's now based, but her vocal virtuosity isn't confined to country music.
Bramlett replaced Stevie Nicks in Fleetwood Mac from 1993-1997 and has sung with a who's who of stars: Billy Joel, Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart, Dwight Yoakum, Johnny Lang, Sam and Dave, Sam Moore, Bad Company, Kenny Rogers, John Waite, Delbert McClinton, Rita Coolidge, Bad Company and Richie Sambora, among others.
Faith Hill featured the singer/songwriter on her Thanksgiving 2002 CBS television special. Hill, who has recorded five of her songs, called Bramlett "a true phenomenon."
"Bekka has sung with me and toured with me for years now, and I still look at that girl in awe. She is a star."
Alison Krauss ranks Bramlett as one of her favorite singers. Vince Gill described her voice as "jaw-dropping."
Bramlett's discography begins in 1973 with "Mobius Strip," when the 4-year-old sang with her father, Delaney Bramlett, half of the husband-and-wife duo Delaney and Bonnie.
According to an online bio, Bramlett has been offered record deals over the years but has chosen the independent route to release her material. Her 2003 solo CD, "What's in It for Me?" was privately pressed and sold only at Nashville area shows, the annual Delbert McClinton Carribean cruise she has frequented and on her website. Her latest release is the 10-track "I've Got News For You" from 2009."
IF YOU GO- What: Nightfall concert featuring Bekka Bramlett.
-- When: 8 p.m. today; Sweet & Lowdown opens at 7 p.m.
--Where: Miller Plaza, M.L. King Boulevard between Cherry and Market streets.
--Admission: Free.
--Phone: 265-0771.-- Website: www.nightfallchattanooga.com.
OPENING ACT
Sweet & Lowdown is a local blues/rock/rockabilly band fronted by Shani Hedden Palmer. An award-winning vocalist and Nashville demo singer, she may be best remembered by Chattanooga audiences for her star turn in a Chattanooga Theatre Centre production of "Always ... Patsy Cline." Others in the band are Kenny Palmer (electric bass), Joe Lance (guitar) and Bob Stagner (drums/percussion).