Music
Press
"To be blessed with prolific songwriting skills and a captivating voice is one thing. But to absolutely master an instrument on top of that is indeed an enormous accomplishment. Meet Erika Luckett."
- Performing Songwriter Magazine
"Erika Luckett has arrived with enough multifaceted talent and musical maturity to make Norah Jones Blush." - Derk Richardson
" Listening to the artist on the stage, I find myself struck with the realization that the expressive woman with the guitar, Erika Luckett, is a shining example of what bountiful living means. Playing there for us, she was radiating an appreciation for the simple joy of being. I thought to myself, this is it. Bountiful living is here in front of me, and it has nothing to do with material goodies, or security, it has to do with raw, free and explosive humanity exploring love/ life" - Kabir Kadre
“One of the most important and original singer songwriters on the international scene.” - Frank Goodman
The New Orleans Sessions, Luckett's follow-up to My Little Crime (Acoustic Guitar's "Best Independent Release of 2002"), showcases an overwhelming talent. Her smoky voice, tenderly seductive, channels Joni Mitchell and Over the Rhine's Karin Bergquist. Her technical proficiency on the guitar -rhythmic, percussive, seasoned with jazz voicings and harmonic touches - is immediately apparent, at least once you've gotten over the fact that she's accompanying herself. Completing the picture, her deeply personal approach to songwriting employs heady use of metaphor - graceful poetry. - Jason Killingsworth
“Erika Luckett is a major presence on the landscape of world music. She is powerful, amazingly innovative, with depth, warmth, intelligence and unsurpassed versatility. In brief: A giant!” - Maximillien DeLafayette
“Her guitar literally sounds like at least two guitars, and her voice sounds like two voices, dropping and salvaging octaves.” - Rebecca Byrkit
“Erika Luckett is a musical phenomenon. It would be wrong and improper to compare her to giants in the music industry for she is a living legend and a unique artist in all her rights.” - WJNA
“Luckett is the whole package, showcasing a supple, imaginative guitar style, lithe vocals, and impeccable timing, while wringing maximum emotion from provocatively personal material.” - Jim Kirlin/Taylor Guitars
Discography
Yaxche Live - 2006
Unexpected - 2005
The New Orleans Sessions - 2003
My Little Crime - 2002
Tinted Glass - 2001
Photos
Bio
"IGNITING HEARTS ACROSS THE GLOBAL FRONTIER" - Erika Luckett creates a powerful expression of world-inspired music. Poetic and sensual, her voice conveys lyrical depth, and her fiery, innovative guitar playing creates an orchestra of sound with only six strings. Performing Songwriter magazine introduces her this way: "To be blessed with prolific songwriting skills and a captivating voice is one thing. But to absolutely master an instrument on top of that is indeed an enormous accomplishment.”
Erika grew up in a fluid current of culture, savoring the richness of the Amazon, the urban rhythms of Sao Paulo, and the percolating warmth of the Caribbean. As a teenager she made her way to France, playing in the subways where her own concoction of Folk/Latin/Jazz/Pop echoed in the underground. She spoke three languages by the time she was eight, four by the time she was fifteen. Language was just another form of music and music was the clearest expression for the contents of her heart. Separating and categorizing makes no sense to someone who was steeped in the richness of the world’s stew. Nursed on Brazilian Bossa Nova, a slew of Latin styles and North American songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Bill Withers and Cole Porter, Erika Luckett stitches together an expression of color and texture that makes its home into the heart of most listeners.
Distinctions between styles fade beneath the undeniable talent and raw passion that distinguishes Erika's music. Whether singing in English, Spanish, French, Italian or Portuguese, with lyrics that capture the intimacy of our human experience and melodies that make distant lands feel like home, her songs invite the listener into terrain that is both vast and familiar. Her energetic exchange transcends the power of sound and penetrates the hearts of her wide-reaching fan base. Some listeners have likened the experience to being “struck by a bolt of goodness” and feeling like they have taken an inspired trip to a “mental spa”. Others claim she has taken them on a “trip around the world, and a trip around the soul”.
Not only has she captivated the hearts of her audiences, Ms. Luckett has also captured attention from the critic's circle. Erika has been honored as “One of the 100 Most Outstanding Women of the Year” (along with Queen Elizabeth, Oprah Winfrey, and Madonna) by Modern Women Today magazine, her music has earned a slew of awards including: Best Album of the Year (2006 -“Unexpected”-JPF Music Awards), and Best International Album (2006 - “Unexpected”- World Art Celebrities Journal), Best Independent Release of the Year (2003 - “My Little Crime”-Acoustic Guitar Magazine), Best Jazz Vocal Album (2003 - “My Little Crime” -JPF Music Awards).
While her recordings have received national and international recognition, the best way to experience Erika’s music is live. To encounter the wonder of Erika Luckett live is to transcend “music as usual”.
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