Blues singer Shemekia Copeland’s new album features her homage to a special friend and mentor, Dr. John. In “Dirty Saint,” a song patterned after the music of Dr. John and his second-line infused hometown, Copeland paints a rollicking, affectionate portrait of the late New Orleans music master.

“Played so sweet, make a woman faint,” she proclaims. “There’ll never be another like the dirty saint. He could stagger, he could stroll. Stole tricknology from Jelly Roll.”

Her ninth album, Uncivil War, Copeland keeps moving beyond the blues. It’s another Americana-oriented project recorded in Nashville with producer-guitarist Will Kimbrough. An all-star lineup of session players participates. On the country, bluegrass and Americana side, there’s Jason Isbell, lap steel guitarist Jerry Douglas and mandolinist Sam Bush. Also appearing are organist and Pineville, Louisiana native Steve Conn; young Mississippi blues singer-guitarist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram; classic Stax Records guitarist Steve Cropper; and guitarists Duane Eddy and Webb Wilder.

Uncivil War, like Copeland’s 2018 release, America’s Child, offers several songs about the divided United States. History haunts the churning blues-rock of “Clotilda’s on Fire,” a song inspired by the last slave ship to dock in America. The social justice-themed “Walk Until I Ride” frames a contemporary freedom song in gospel dress. In a country-folk vein, title song “Uncivil War” pairs passionate social commentary with Douglas’ dobro, Bush’s mandolin and Conn’s B3 Hammond organ. “Nobody’s backing down,” Copeland laments. “Some won’t even talk. … One hand’s a palm, the other’s a fist. Another chance for love just got missed.”

Among the message songs, there’s also room for “Love Song,” a country-blues ballad composed by Copeland’s blues artist father, Johnny Clyde Copeland. In the mold of Slim Harpo’s “Rainin’ in My Heart,” the song surely will lure south Louisiana couples to the dancefloor.