New Orleans native and Austin, Texas transplant Marcia Ball debuts at the Knickerbocker Café, 35 Railroad Ave., Westerly, on Saturday, Sept. 19. Opening the show will be Johnny Nicholas & the Texas All-Stars. A special end of night jam will take place with Johnny and the horn section from the Texas All-Stars joining Marcia along with Greg Piccolo.

The show runs from 9 p.m.-12:30 am. Tickets are $30 and are available at www.theknickerbockercafe.com or charge by phone at the box office at 596-4225. Singer/pianist Marcia Ball knows how to raise roofs and tear down walls with her infectious, intelligent and deeply emotional brand of southern boogie, rollicking, roadhouse blues and heartfelt ballads. Over the course of her three-decade career Ball has earned a huge and intensely loyal following all over the world. Her exquisite piano playing and passionate, playful vocals fuse New Orleans and Gulf Coast R&B with Austin's deep songwriting tradition into a sound No Depression described as "a little rock, a lot of roll, a pinch of rhythm and a handful of blues."

Marcia was recently honored with two 2009 Living Blues Awards. She won (female) and Blues Artist of the Year Most Outstanding Musician (keyboard) for the third year in a row in the Readers' Poll. She is also a four-time Grammy nominee (including a nomination for her latest album, “Peace Love & BBQ”), and won her fourth Pinetop Perkins Best Piano Player Award in the past five years at the Blues Music Awards.

In February, to celebrate her 60th birthday, Marcia hosted a three-day Great Big Birthday Bash at Antone's in Austin, Texas to benefit the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) and Sweet Home New Orleans. The shows featured extensive list of Marcia's musician friends including Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie, Sonny Landreth, Angela Strehli, Maria Muldaur, Tracy Nelson, Lavelle White, Lou Ann Barton, Sarah Brown and more. On Sunday there was a five keyboard "Pianorama Brunch" featuring Floyd Domino, Johnny Nicholas, Nick Connolly, Riley Osborne and Marcia on five keyboards all at the same time.