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Accompanied by a dynamic four piece ensemble, veteran Bay Area artists, Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz deliver a truly signature sound, layering elements of Stax/Volt styled R&B, electric Americana, and psychedelic rock atop a Chicago and Texas blues foundation. The Lucky Losers perform powerful original music about transcending the dark side of the American dream, the beauty and pain of being alive, and devotion in all it’s complexities.
Described as “the finest light-skinned female blues vocalist in the U.S.” (Real Blues/2010), fiery Dallas born entertainer, Cathy Lemons has a velvet voice with a gritty edge and the rebel conviction of a woman risen from the ashes.
New Jersey native, Phil Berkowitz, “has earned renown as one of the West Coast’s most distinctive harp players, as well as for his sharp, resonant tenor” (Living Blues/ 2018). Phil is The Lucky Losers’ mysterious leading man. Phil possesses a polished tenor that recalls legends of the past and his expert musicianship fuels the passionate dialogue with Cathy.
The stark contrast between incandescent Cathy Lemons and elegant Phil Berkowitz makes for a captivating musical union, breathing new life into American songwriting tradition and the vanishing art of duet singing.
In July of 2014, The Lucky Losers emerged onto the scene and have been entertaining audiences across America ever since. Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz delivered an outstanding debut album, “A Winning Hand“, which marked the beginning of their fruitful collaboration with Kid Andersen at his famous Greaseland in San Jose, California. The Lucky Losers recruited top West Coast players, such as Grammy Award winning guitarist, Steve Freund (Sunnyland Slim), Andersen himself, and Ben Rice, who won the 2014 International Blues Challenge for “Guitar” in the Solo/Duo category, to make their dreams come alive. “A Winning Hand” went on to peak at #5 on The Roots Music Report’s “Top 50 Blues Albums” and reach #1 on Blues 411’s “A Baker’s Dozen of Blues”, garnering a nomination for a Jimi Award in the “Best Traditional Album” category. The album was listed as one of the “Top Blues Albums of 2015” by The Roots Music Report. Dan Akroyd (Elwood Blues) chose their original song, “Change in the Weather” as “Bluesbreaker of the Week” for his internationally syndicated “Bluesmobile/Everything Blues” radio show. The Lucky Losers landed the cover of the November 2015 issue of French magazine, Blues and Co. Living Blues, Elmore, Classicalite, Blues Matters, Blues Blast, Blues Bytes, and additional influencers in the blues community concluded that The Lucky Losers had dealt a winning hand.
In the summer of 2016, The Lucky Losers released “In Any Town“, their sophomore album on Dirty Cat Records featuring stellar musical contributions from Kid Andersen, Paris Slim, Terry Hanck, and Jeff Jensen. Inspired by music of the 60’s and true events from their beautiful, twisted lives, Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz served up medicine for wayward souls, offering glimpses of paradise through a veil of tears.
Within two weeks of its release, “In Any Town” which peaked at #10 on The Roots Music Report’s “Top Albums/Blues, #2 on The Roots Music Report’s “Top Albums/All Genres/ California” and #3 for “Top Blues Rock Albums.” A month later, Living Blues Radio Charts placed it at #6. Eight songs from the album charted into the top 20 on The Roots Music Report’s “Top Singles”. The album was also nominated by Blues 411 for a Jimi Award for “Best Harmonica Player” and “Best Contemporary Blues Album”.
“In Any Town” was featured in several notable end of year lists such as Richard Ludmerer’s “Top 50 Independent Blues Albums of 2016” (of Making a Scene). Critics from all around the world gave the album rave reviews. In 2017, The Lucky Losers toured extensively nationwide in support of “In Any Town” accompanied by incendiary guitarist, Laura Chavez, who was listed by Guitar Player Magazine as one of the world’s “Top 50 Sensational Female Guitarists”. “In Any Town” was nominated for total of seven awards, five Independent Blues Awards and two Blues 411 Jimi awards.
In 2018, The Lucky Losers continued their winning streak upon the release of their third record, “Blind Spot“, produced and engineered by long-time collaborator, Kid Andersen. “Blind Spot” is a road warrior’s tale, solely comprised of original material created by Cathy and Phil alongside their multi-talented songwriting partner, Danny Caron (Charles Brown). Traveling through a winding soundscape of modern blues, vintage R&B, and Americana, “Blind Spot” presents unvarnished testimony to the fragile and fleeting state of our world. The album features contributions from Blues Music Award winner/ guitarist, Kid Andersen, IBMA Momentum Award winning violinist, Annie Staninec (Rod Stewart), 2019 BMA nominated saxophonist, Nancy Wright, and 2019 BMA nominated guitarist, Laura Chavez.
Blind Spot was on the Roots Music Report’s “Top 50 Blues Album Chart” for 26 weeks/ with 4 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at #9 and for 32 weeks on the RMR “Contemporary Blues Album Chart, peaking at #5.” The Living Blues Radio Chart placed it at #10 in May of 2018. “Blind Spot” was on the “Top 50 California Album Chart” for a total of 32 weeks with 18 weeks in the Top 10. Nine of the 11 original songs from the album made The Roots Music Report’s “Top 50 Singles” in Blues & Contemporary Blues categories. The album was included in several notable year-end lists such as Downbeat Magazine’s “Best of 2018,” Richard Ludmerer’s “Top 40 Indie Blues Recordings of 2018” (listed at #1), and The Roots Music Report’s “Top Blues Albums of 2018 (listed at #28).”
In 2018, The Lucky Losers completed two tours in support of Blind Spot, the first being a 26-venue/15-state springtime North American tour, followed by a second tour of the Eastern seaboard in the fall. That year, The Lucky Losers were nominated for three Independent Blues Awards from Making a Scene — Best Independent Blues R&B/Soul Artist, Best Independent Blues R&B/Soul CD “In Any Town“, and Best Independent Blues R&B/Soul Song/ “It Ain’t Enough.”
In the late spring of 2019, Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz headed back out on the road, bringing their music to the American public on a 13-state tour. Upon their return, they discovered that The Independent Blues Awards honored them with 5 award nominations: Best Independent Blues R&B/Soul CD; Best Independent Blues-Soul Artist; Best R&B/Soul Song for “Take The Long Road” (featuring Laura Chavez on guitar); Best Blues Rock Song for “Alligator Baptism;” and Best Contemporary Blues Song for “The River.” Additionally, Cathy Lemons’ song, “The River” was awarded an honorable mention in the International Songwriting Competition, competing against 19,000 global artists to become a finalist of only 16 songwriters in the “Blues” category.
At present, The Lucky Losers have just unveiled their fourth studio album, “Godless Land,” on August 14, 2020 through Vizztone Records/ Redeye Worldwide.
