THE LUCKY LOSERS
Short Bio
Winners of six Independent Blues Awards, including Artist of the Year (Cathy Lemons) and Song of the Year (“Godless Land”), The Lucky Losers are San Francisco’s premier six-piece blues-soul band. Fronted by fiery Dallas-raised vocalist Cathy Lemons and New Jersey harmonica master/vocalist Phil Berkowitz, the group delivers a throwback mix of blues, soul, rock, gospel, and Americana with impassioned vocals and electrifying interplay.
Praised as “the finest light-skinned female blues vocalist in the U.S.” (Real Blues) and “one of the West Coast’s most distinctive harp players” (Living Blues), Lemons and Berkowitz bring striking contrast and chemistry to the stage, backed by a powerhouse ensemble that amplifies their soulful originals and dynamic performances. Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz revive the vanishing art of the duet while pushing the American blues tradition forward.
Since 2015, The Lucky Losers have toured nationally across 46 states, released five critically acclaimed albums, and earned 6 national awards, 25 nominations, and two International Songwriting Competition finalist honors. Their discography includes A Winning Hand (2015), In Any Town (2016), Blind Spot (2018), Godless Land (2020), and Standin’ Pat (2022). Each has charted internationally and received praise from major outlets including Downbeat, Living Blues, Elmore, and Blues Music Magazine.
With a full band sound, raw authenticity, and undeniable chemistry, The Lucky Losers continue to captivate audiences and critics alike—cementing their reputation as one of the most compelling blues acts of their generation.
LONG BIO - THE LUCKY LOSERS
The Lucky Losers, led by singer Cathy Lemons and vocalist/harmonica ace Phil Berkowitz, burst onto the scene in 2014 with their debut A Winning Hand. Recorded at Kid Andersen’s famed Greaseland Studios with top West Coast players, such as guitarist Steve Freund and bassist Steve Evans. The album climbed to #5 on the Roots Music Report Blues Chart, landed at #1 on Blues 411’s “Baker’s Dozen of Blues,” and earned a Jimi Award nomination for “Best Traditional Album.” Dan Aykroyd (a.k.a. Elwood Blues) spotlighted their original “Change in the Weather” on his international radio show, while critics across the globe hailed the duo as a fresh force in the blues.
Their 2016 follow-up, In Any Town, deepened the duo’s reputation with songs drawn from their own lives, infused with ’60s soul and blues-rock grit. The record reached the Top 10 on multiple Roots Music Report charts and scored nominations for “Best Harmonica Player” and “Best Contemporary Blues Album.” Touring nationwide with guitarist Laura Chavez (Guitar Player Magazine’s “Top 50 Sensational Female Guitarists”), the band cemented their reputation as a must-see live act.
In 2018, Lemons and Berkowitz released Blind Spot, a collection of all-original songs crafted with collaborator Danny Caron. Fusing modern blues, vintage R&B, and Americana, the album earned glowing reviews, stayed on the Roots Music Report charts for over six months, and appeared on several “Best of the Year” lists, including Downbeat Magazine.
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 a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition, competing against 19k global artists to become one of the 16 songwriters honored in the “Blues” category.
Blind Spot won Cathy & Phil their first national award: “Best Blues/ R&B Soul Artist of 2019”.
Their momentum continued in 2020 with Godless Land, completed just before the pandemic shut down touring. Released on Vizztone, the album soared to #2 on the Living Blues Radio Chart, #5 on Roots Music Report’s “Top Blues Album” chart, and even reached #7 on iTunes’ U.S. Blues Chart. Despite widespread lockdowns, The Lucky Losers defied the odds and toured through eight states that fall, safely bringing their music to fans in clubs and concert halls. Critics widely praised the record, with Richard Ludmerer of Making A Scene calling it “one of the best contemporary blues albums of the year.” In 2021, Godless Land swept five Independent Blues Awards, including “Artist of the Year” for Lemons and “Song of the Year.”
Winners of FIVE Independent Blues Awards in 2021 for the album Godless Land!
Artist of the Year | Cathy Lemons
Song of the Year | Godless Land
Best R&B Soul Song | Godless Land
Best Female Artist | Cathy Lemons
Best R&B Soul CD | Godless Land | The Lucky Losers (on Vizztone)
2022 ALBUM STANDIN’ PAT
The Lucky Losers followed up in 2022 with Standin’ Pat, another Kid Andersen production. Blending late ’60s/’70s soul with blues and Americana, the record produced five charting singles, earned Top 20 placements across Roots Music Report’s blues categories, and appeared on year-end “Best Of” lists from outlets such as Blues Music Magazine and KALW’s Fog City Blues.
Downbeat critic Frank John Hadley declared it “a strong contender for best blues album of the year.”
Now, in 2025, The Lucky Losers return with Arrival, their sixth studio album, released November 1 on MoMojo Records. Produced once again by Grammy-winner Kid Andersen, Arrival is a bold statement from a band at the height of its creative powers.
With Arrival, the band channels the heartbeat of the street and the restless spirit of the late ’60s and early ’70s—an era when soul, blues, R&B, and rock collided in unforgettable ways. Lemons and Berkowitz, with their seamless vocal blend, lead a 47-minute journey of grit, beauty, and defiance. The album features 11 original songs: five written by Lemons (with Kid Andersen and Chris Burns), five by Phil Berkowitz (with Danny Caron and Chris Burns), and a closing duet, “Ain’t the Marrying Kind,” co-written by Lemons and Berkowitz.
From the biting funk of “S-C-A-M” to the swaggering irony of “Sunday Stroller,” the tracks move effortlessly through deep country blues, gospel-infused blues, uptown R&B, ’60s soul, and raw ’70s rock. Highlights include:
“I Believe Her (Because I Am Her)” – a fierce, personal anthem from Lemons about the resilience of women who’ve endured abuse.
“Play It From the Heart” – a soaring, romantic ballad in the vein of ’70s rock epics.
“Pull on the Rope” – a Mavis Staples-inspired call for unity and compassion in divided times.
“Sorry Brother” – modeled after Allen Toussaint’s “Hercules,” showcasing Berkowitz’s horn-like harmonica.
“Don’t Let It Slip Away” – a lush Stax-style ballad with horn arrangements by Grammy winner Mike Rinta, spotlighting the full force of Lemons’ voice.
By the album’s end, Arrival feels exactly like its title: a statement of arrival at a new creative peak.
HOW CATHY & PHIL BECAME THE LUCKY LOSERS
The Lucky Losers were born in the summer of 2013 on a deserted road in Sedona, Arizona.
With a Willie Dixon song on the stereo, Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz spontaneously began to sing together and felt a spark of magic. So it was, that two seasoned blues musicians came together to begin a new adventure, inspired by the vanishing art of duet singing.
Roughly a year earlier on a dark night in San Francisco, soulful vocalist/harmonica ace, Phil Berkowitz dropped by The Saloon and was instantly captivated by the siren song of blues singing legend, Cathy Lemons. Phil sought to make her acquaintance, inviting her to perform with him at Club Fox in Redwood City. While rehearsing for the show, Cathy Lemons marveled at Phil’s encyclopedic knowledge of American music and his unique sound, a hybrid of country, soul, and R&B. A tall, blonde, good looking man, decked out in tailored suits, fine hats, and strange checkered shoes — Cathy felt an immediate attraction. When Phil would bend down on one knee and sing a Charlie Rich song, she felt goosebumps. Then she noted the shiny ring on his hand... Phil was a married man.
A year later, Phil went through a divorce and Cathy separated from her long-time beau, Johnny Ace. They fell in love and took off on a road trip to Sedona, Arizona. The rest is history.
Upon their return to the Bay Area, Cathy and Phil continued to sing together, fashioning the beginnings of what would become their distinctive signature sound. An inventive, hypnotic spin on blues, classic R&B, and Americana.
The Lucky Losers tested the waters by competing in a regional International Blues Challenge [IBC], sponsored by The Golden Gate Blues Society. They fittingly won “The Wild Card” round, which allowed them to compete in the finals. Although they were a brand new band and did not take the crown for a chance to compete nationally, it was clear as day that they were stronger together than apart.
The Lucky Losers chose their distinctive band name after a favorite song, “Lucky Loser” by the great James Carr.
DISCOGRAPHY
THE LUCKY LOSERS (CATHY LEMONS & PHIL BERKOWITZ)
“A Winning Hand,” West Tone Records, 2015
“An old school soul explosion!”
– Elwood’s Bluesbreakers, TheBluesmobile, July 30 2015
"In Any Town," Dirty Cat Records, 2016
“A throwback to the hybrid of soul, blues, rock, gospel, and country that emerged in the late 1960’s … impassioned vocals …electrifying interplay… powerful harmonica… dramatic, heavy blues rock…. such a compelling listen… haunting soulful…. Roots music listeners who take a chance on the Lucky losers will surely hit the jackpot.”
–Robert H. Cataliotti, Living Blues, Oct |Nov 2016, Issue 245
"Blind Spot," Dirty Cat Records, 2018
“An ANTIDOTE to the multitude of emotionally vacant singers, San Jose, California’s 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, she crystallizes her creative resolve to put across a program of smart, likeable originals, that sport winning riffs. Refreshingly mixing rock, blues, R&B, soul, and a dash of country, The Losers lean on technique and spirit equally. Special mention: Laura Chavez’s stirring lead guitar on Supernatural Blues.”
— Downbeat Magazine, Frank John Hadley, August 2018
"Godless Land," Vizztone Label Group, 2020
“The Lucky Losers prove to be one of the fast rising and best duo ensembles on the national scene....Within her vocals, Lemons possesses a supremely talented and developed instrument, as she can coo, tease, belt ballad, and bellow with supreme confidence and to great effect. She simply owns the songs she sings. Two terrific & important songwriters, vocalists, & musicians. In fact ‘Godless Land’ proves their artistic arrival.”
— Blues Music Magazine, Joseph Jordan, October 2020
"Standin’ Pat," Vizztone Label Group, 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.’
— Frank John Hadley | Longtime Critic Downbeat| October 25, 2022
“Arrival” -stay tuned for official release on MoMojo Records, November 1, 2025.
CATHY LEMONS DISCOGRAPHY (PRIOR TO 2015)
“Dark Road,” The Saloon Recordings, 1999
"A burnished, scintillating disc and certainly one of the finest debuts from a contemporary female blues singer this year."
– Hal Horowitz, Blues Revue, 2000
“Lemonace,” Vizztone, 2010
“A wonderful, beautiful, sonic film that bends the boundaries of genre description.”
–Johnny Fulltime, Fulltime Blues, 2010
"Black Crow," Vizztone Label Group, 2014
"Once you hear her, you will be a fan for life. This is music with a timeless quality that will have all the hitting power twenty years down the road that it does today."
– Reflections In Blue, Bill Wilson, 2014
PHIL BERKOWITZ DISCOGRAPHY (PRIOr TO 2015)
High Times, Dirty Cat Records, 2000
“Lead man ‘Harmonica’ Phil Berkowitz blows inspiring harp and sings on every tune, causing the toes to tap and the fingers to snap along with his constant rhythm. Berkowitz also contributes to the songwriting detail by penning nine out of the 12 tunes.”
– Bruce Coen, BluesBytes
Phil Berkowitz Plays...Louis' Blues, 2005
“Berkowitz's singing is relaxed and unaffected, his harp tone resplendent, his phrasing inventive. William Beatty on piano anchors a trio of wonderful guitarists; Danny Caron and Sean Carney augment or substitute for main man Marvin Greene on six tracks.”
– Tom Hyslop, Blues Revue, Issue #119, Aug/Sept 2009
ALL Night Party, Dirty Cat Records, 2009
"Consistently imaginative arrangements … and striking harmonica work--it is a bit of a classic blues record.”
– Lee Hildebrand, Living Blues, 2009
