BIOGRAPHY | MUSIC | PRESS | VIDEO | PHOTOS | TOUR DATES | BAND MEMBERS | FILES | CONTACT
MEET THE LUCKY LOSERS
Nominated for THREE Independent Blues Awards in 2023 & winners of FIVE Independent Blues Awards in 2021 (including “Artist of the Year” Cathy Lemons & “Song of the Year” Godless Land), The Lucky Losers are San Francisco’s no. 1 touring band. Their music is a throwback to the hybrid of soul, blues, rock, gospel, and country that emerged in the late 1960’s with impassioned vocal performances, electrifying musical interplay, and powerful harmonica.
Described as “the finest 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]. The stark contrast between incandescent Lemons and elegant Berkowitz makes for a captivating musical union, breathing new life into American songwriting tradition and the vanishing art of duet singing.
Since 2015, The Lucky Losers have completed numerous national tours, performing on stages in over 46 states. Their artistic achievements have garnered 6 award wins, 22 award nominations, & two International Songwriting Competition prizes as Finalists.
AWARDS | HONORS | CHARTS
AUSTRALIAN BLUES & ROOTS CHART (MOST PLAYED INTERNATIONAL RELEASES)
2022 —Standin’ Pat | #24 (October, November, December 2022)
NAAC (NORTH AMERICAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE RADIO CHART)
2022 —Standin’ Pat | #11 (October, November, December 2022)
ITUNES TOP BLUES U.S.
2020 Top Blues Albums — Godless Land | #7
LIVING BLUES
2022 TOP BLUES ALBUMS—Standin’ Pat (#14 peak) 25 Most Played Albums for October, November December 2022 & January 2023)
2020 TOP 50 BLUES ALBUMS — Godless Land #29 (ALL ALBUMS for year 2020)
2020 #2, #7 Top 25 Most Played Albums — Godless Land August & September 2020
2018 #10 Top 25 Most Played Albums Blind Spot | May 2018
2016 #6 Top 25 Most Played Albums In Any Town | July 2016
2015 #14 Top 25 Most Played Albums A Winning Hand | July 2015
INDEPENDENT BLUES AWARD
2023: Best Contemporary Band— The Lucky Losers | Nominee
Best Contemporary CD — Standin’ Pat | Nominee
Best Contemporary Song — Standin’ Pat | Phil Berkowitz & Danny Caron | Nominee
2022: Road Warrior— The Lucky Losers | Nominee
2021: Artist of the Year— Cathy Lemons | Winner
Best R&B Bluesl CD — Godless Land | Winner
Best R&B Blues Song — Godless Land | Winner
Song of the Year — Godless Land | Winner
Best Female Artist — Cathy Lemons | Winner
2019: Best Blues/Soul Artist — The Lucky Losers | Winner
Best Blues/Soul CD — Blind Spot | Nominee
Best Blues/Soul R&B Song — Take The Long Road | Nominee
Best Blues/Rock Song — Alligator Baptism | Nominee
Best Contemporary Blues Songs — The River | Nominee
2018: Best Blues/Soul Artist — The Lucky Losers | Nominee
Best Blues/Soul CD — In Any Town | Nominee
Best Blues/Soul R&B Song — It Ain’t Enough | Nominee
2017: Best Blues/Soul CD — In Any Town | Nominee
Best Blues/Soul Song — It Ain’t Enough | Nominee
INDEPENDENT BLUES BROADCASTERS | U.K.
2020: Top 40 Most Played Albums — Godless Land | #9
INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION
2022: Blues Semi-Finalist |You Can’t Lose with a Winning Hand from Standin’ Pat | Cathy Lemons & Chris Burns
2022: Americana Semi-Finalist |Rich Strike from Standin’ Pat | Cathy Lemons
2020: Blues Finalist | Honorable Mention | Godless Land from Godless Land | Cathy Lemons & Kid Andersen
2018: Blues Finalist | The River from Blind Spot | Cathy Lemons (16 Blues Finalist out of 19k entrants)
2017: Blues Semi-Finalist |In Any Town from In Any Town | Cathy Lemons
TOP 10 ALBUMS 2022
Blues Music Magazine | Standin’ Pat, Dan Stevens — 19 editors compiled their favorite Top 10 from 2022.
KALW Fog City Blues | Standin’ Pat, #6
#1 KIOS | Standin’ Pat, Mike Jacops, “Blues in the Afternoon” | December 2022 (charted since release in October 2022)
TOP ALBUMS 2022
Top Blues Albums for 2022 (Roots Music Report)
TOP ALBUMS 2021
Top Blues Albums for 2021 (Roots Music Report)
TOP ALBUMS 2020
MAKING A SCENE | Richard Ludmerer’s Top Indie Blues Releases — Godless Land
MAKING A SCENE | Richard Ludmerer’s Top Indie Blues Releases — Godless Land
Rick Keyes Music Caravan Blues Show |Top Contemporary Blues Releases | December 2020, #17
Roots Music Report Top Blues Albums for the Year of 2020 — Godless Land
Bruce's Top 20 from 2020 (Caldonia’s Crossroads), Catch desire By The Tail, #6
#1 KIOS Mike Jacops, Blues in the Afternoon | August 2020
TOP ALBUMS 2018
DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE | The Year’s Top Rated Albums — Blind Spot | December 2018
MAKING A SCENE | Richard Ludmerer’s Top 40 Indie Blues Recordings — Blind Spot (listed at #1)
THE AQUARIAN | MIKE GREENBLATT’S RANT ‘N’ ROLL The Best of 2018 — Blind Spot #10
#1 KIOS Mike Jacops “Blues in the Afternoon” | May 2018
TOP ALBUMS 2016: Richard Ludmerer’s Top 50 Indie Blues Albums — In Any Town, #28
ROOTS MUSIC REPORT
2022 : Top 50 Blues Chart — Standin’ Pat, October, November, December of 2022, January 2023
5 singles charted for a period of 10 weeks — Standin’ Pat
2021 : Top Blues Albums for Year of 2021 — Godless Land
Top Contemporary Blues Albums for Year of 2021
2020: #5 Top Blues Albums — Godless Land [45 Weeks on chart|4 Weeks Top 10]
#2 Top Blues Single — Half A Nothing [12 Weeks on chart |4 Weeks |Top 10]
#2 California Chart |Top Albums [46 Weeks on chart|10 Weeks Top 10]
#1 Contemporary Blues Single Chart — Half A Nothing [8 Weeks on chart |6 Weeks Top 10]
10 singles charted for a period of 26 weeks — Godless Land
2018 :
#28 Top Blues Albums for Year of 2018 — Blind Spot
#17 Top Contemporary Blues Albums for Year of 2018
#9 Blues Album Chart — Blind Spot [26 Weeks on chart |4 Weeks/Top 10]
#5 Contemporary Blues Album Chart — Blind Spot [32 weeks on chart |19 Weeks Top 10]
#2 California Chart [32 Weeks on chart |18 Weeks Top 10]
2016:
#28 Roots Music Report | Top Blues Rock Albums for the Year of 2016 —In Any Town
#81 Roots Music Report | Top Blues Albums for the Year of 2016 — In Any Town
2015:
#48 Roots Music Report | Top Blues Albums for the Year of 2016 — A Winning Hand
#5 Top 50 Blues Album Chart — A Winning Hand
#1 on Blues 411's "A Baker's Dozen of Blues"
BLUES 411 JIMI AWARDS
Best Harmonica Player — Phil Berkowitz (2016)
Best Contemporary Blues Album — In Any Town (2016)
Best Traditional Album — A Winning Hand (2015)
GOLDEN GATE BLUES SOCIETY
2015
International Blues Challenge Finalist (Wild Card).
MUSIC
STANDIN’ PAT|2022
GODLESS LAND| 2020
BLIND SPOT | 2018
IN ANY TOWN | 2016
A WINNING HAND | 2015
PRESS
“”A strong contender for ‘Best Blues Album’ of 2022”
The new album shows that the studio connection Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz make
with producer Kid Andersen is wonderful. They conjure a blues of a different hue, one full of
surprises and elemental forces. The bandleaders have animated musical intelligence in abundance.
”Down in Memphis Town” may be the outstanding song, with ten more originals almost as good. “Standin’ Pat” is definitely a strong contender for “best blues album of the year.”
”
“The Lucky Losers are a superb band with a truly authentic vision of what roots music should be. ’Standin’ Pat’ articulates that vision in a way that’s likely to win another whole trophy case of awards. Spin it once and you won’t be able to stop. Highly recommended.”
“The soulful power of the songs takes hold on the opening track and doesn’t let up until the last groove of the album.
’Godless Land’ showcases the lyrical and musical versatility of Lemons & Berkowitz while offering a richly laden collection filled with musical gems whose many facets shine luminously.”
““One wonders whether the fact the songs seem to linger in one’s head after listening is because the songs are so well-crafted, or the performances are wonderful. Like their previous recordings, there are first-rate songs, superb singing, and terrific playing. As I wrote reviewing their first album, there is not a bum note on this recording. They may call themselves the Lucky Losers, but listeners are big winners with their music.””
““The songs are tight, the music and lyrics are great, the performances are crisp and they sing with great emotion. I’ve listened to all their recordings and this really tops all their prior stuff and they’ve done some really good stuff before this. I was very impressed and highly recommend this one!””
“The real selling point is how well these two relate to each other musically, and how tunefully they play off each other’s strengths. Whether solo vocals backed by the other, or duets, they are a match made in heaven... ‘Blind Spot’ is the modern-day blues album.”
“The songs range from the topical to the traditional. This is the Lucky Losers at their very best. Since their inception vocalist Lemons has been consistently fine, their anchor. On “Godless Land” vocalist Berkowitz emerges with his finest performances. Andersen’s outstanding production results in one of the best contemporary blues albums of the year.”
“(Phil) Berkowitz sings with straight forward feeling and burns on harp with particular fervor... (Cathy) Lemons voice is beautiful—simultaneously soothing and commanding.”
“An ANTIDOTE to the multitude of emotionally vacant singers ... Cathy Lemons sounds genuinely wise, gritty, tender, wounded, and flirtatious, sometimes all at once. Fortunate to have harmonica champ, Phil Berkowitz, as her partner in songwriting and singing ... The Lucky Losers lean on technique and spirit equally.”
“The Lucky Losers triumph with ‘Blind Spot’! The two vocalists fit together perfectly...The songs aren’t blues and aren’t quite country, but they’re wonderful...The relentless road work has created a cohesiveness between Berkowitz and Lemons that comes through the music the moment you hear it.”
READ FULL REVIEWS OF THE LUCKY LOSERS ALBUMS
VIDEO GALLERY
Tour Video
They conjure a blues of a different hue, one full of
surprises and elemental forces. The bandleaders have animated musical intelligence in abundance.
”Down in Memphis Town” may be the outstanding song, with ten more originals almost as good. “Standin’ Pat” is definitely a strong contender for “best blues album of the year.”
— Frank John Hadley | Longtime Critic Downbeat| October 25, 2022
The Making of 2022 Album: Standin’ Pat
VIDEO FOR GODLESS LAND & Greaseland
YOU LEFT IT BEHIND OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR BLIND SPOT
“You Left It Behind,” a tongue-in-cheek look at forgetfulness and the trials of being on the road, with a swing feel. Cathy Lemons tells us:
“This is the first song Phil and I ever wrote together with our writing partner Danny Caron! It’s a funny song about forgetting things–and we do forget things–but you would too if you were traveling ten thousand miles across country in a big cargo van with all your belongings and a bunch of musicians in the back seat. Everything in this song is based on real-life events. ”
2019 LIVE PERFORMANCES
Performing in San Francisco prestigious Fillmore Heritage Festival (formerly known as Yoshi’s) in January of 2019, and also the small, intimate venue at Racho Nicasio in Nicasio, CA where the band is essentially a trio.
LIVE AT SKYLINE STUDIOS
San Francisco's finest male/female duet fronted band, The Lucky Losers perform various tracks from their critically acclaimed second album, "In Any Town". Watch "Jackson," "I Can't Change Ya", "So High".
PHOTO GALLERY
Click to enlarge and download.
BAND MEMBERS
CATHY LEMONS
VOCALS
CATHY LEMONS is a legendary, blues singing firebird out of Dallas, Texas, who has mesmerized audiences with her “velvety and hypnotic voice, resonant of a female Howlin’ Wolf” (Fulltimeblues 2010) for 30 years. A seasoned and expressive songwriter, Cathy brings profound authenticity to her craft and delivers emotional and electrifying performances. She has collaborated with many great names in blues, such as Tommy Castro, Kid Andersen, Anson Funderburgh, and the great John Lee Hooker.
To date, Cathy Lemons has released three studio albums: “Dark Road,” ”Lemonace" and "Black Crow". Her critically acclaimed “Black Crow” was nominated for a “Welcome Back” Jimi Award from Blues411. The album made the 2014 Downbeat “Winners Pick” and was featured in Blues Matters’ “Top 10 Albums” in the U.K. Her song “The River” was a finalist in the 2018 International Songwriting Competition in the blues category.
“Godless Land” was a Finalist in 2020 The International Songwriting Competition. Cathy won both “Song of the Year” & “Best R&B/Blues Song” from the Independent Blues Awards in 2021, as well as “Artist of the Year”.
PHIL BERKOWITZ
VOCALS & HARMONICA
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). For over 20 years Phil has brought his energetic and refined musical style to American audiences.
Phil has collaborated and/or toured with a wide range of esteemed musicians, such as 2011 International Blues Challenge (IBC) winner Sean Carney, 2014 IBC winner for “Best Guitar” Ben Rice, Duke Robillard, Billy Branch, and most notable, Charles Brown’s former bandleader and guitarist, Danny Caron with whom he currently co-writes his songs. Phil has released three critically acclaimed albums: “High Time”/ 2000, “Louis’ Blues”/ 2005, and “All Night Party” /2009.
CHRIS BURNS
KEYBOARDS
Simon Govan Smith
GUITAR
EDGAR SAN GABRIEL
BASS
ROBI BEAN
DRUMS
UPCOMING DATES
The Lucky Losers have previously performed at the following venues, concert series, and festivals.
BB’s Jazz Blues & Soups
St. Louis, MO | 2020
The Sapphire Room
Boise, ID | 2019-2020
Red, White & Blues Festival
Las Cruces, NM | 2019
Capitol Oyster Bar
Montgomery, AL | 2015 — 2019
Fillmore Heritage Center
San Francisco, CA | 2019
Biscuits & Blues
San Francisco, CA | 2014-2018
The Poor House Studio Showroom
San Jose, CA | 2015 — 2019
Rancho Nicasio
Nicasio, CA | 2018-2020
Club Fox
Redwood City, CA | 2015-2021
Buddy Guy’s Legends
Chicago, IL | 2018
Blind Willie’s
Atlanta, GA | 2017-2019
Natalie's Coal Fired Pizza
Columbus, OH | 2018-2020
The Slippery Noodle
Indianapolis, IN | 2018
Sunday Blues Cruz Festival
Amarillo, TX | 2019
Bob Sykes BBQ Festival
Bessemer, AL | 2019The Rockin’ Blues ‘N Brews Festival
Vacaville, CA | 2018
Down Home Blues Festival
Camden, SC | 2018
BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups
St. Louis, MO | 2017 — 2019
Apple Blossom Festival
Sebastopol, CA| 2017
“Bourbon & Blues” Music Series
The Momo, Sacramento, CA | 2017 — 2019
Freight & Salvage
Berkeley, CA | 2015 & 2017
Famous Dave's BBQ & Blues
Minneapolis, MN | 2017
Tuesday Night Blues
Eau Claire, WI | 2016 & 2017
Lafayette’s Music Room
Memphis, TN | 2016, 2017, 2018
San Felipe Blues and Arts Fiesta
Baja, Mexico | 2017
Englewood’s on Dearborn
Dearborn, FL | 2017
Riverfront Festival
Libby, MT | 2016
Ribberfest Blues Festival
Madison WI | 2016Blues by the Sea
Kiawah Island, NC | 2016
Point Richmond Music Concert Series
Richmond, CA | 2016
Omaha Summer Arts Festival
Omaha, NE | 2016, 2019
Knuckleheads
Kansas City, MO | 2015
Rum Boogie Cafe
Memphis, TN | 2015
Bradfordville Blues Club
Tallahassee, FL | 2015
Burlingame Jazz and Arts Festival
Burlingame, CA| 2015
City Winery
Napa, CA | 2015
Empress Theater
Vallejo, CA | 2015
Placerville Art & Wine Festival
Placerville, CA | 2015
Roseville Downtown Concert Series
Roseville, CA | 2015
CONTACT
BOOKING
Phil Berkowitz
Proud Member of The Blues Foundation,
The Golden Gate Blues Society,
and the Silicon Valley Blues Society.
PRESS
Amy Bratt
PR for STANDIN’ PAT
VIZZTONE RECORDS
FILES