Mavis Staples Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Michele Amabile Angermiller Moments after being honored at the American Music Honors of the Bruce Springsteen Archives, John Mellencamp took a moment to talk about its namesake at Monmouth University’s Pollak Theater in West Long Branch on Wednesday night (April 24). “I know you all love him,” he said of Springsteen. “He put down a big footprint — him and [Bob] Dylan, for me.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic If we had the ability to assess who is the most beloved figure in music — not in overall numbers, but sheer adoration, per capita and per peer — it likely wouldn’t be Taylor or Beyoncé but Mavis Staples, who has been taking us there since the late ’60s. There being the smile that crosses anyone’s face when fortunate enough to be in the same room, or even in just giving a passing thought to that voice, that presence, and all the different ways in which Staples embodies righteousness.

Willie Nelson may be.The nonagenarian country icon — who’s been on the road since the mid 1950s (!) — just announced that he’ll drop into Camden, NJ’s Freedom Mortgage Pavilion to celebrate July 4 with his Outlaw Tour co-headliners Bob Dylan and Robert Plant.Now if that’s not American, we don’t know what is.They’ll be joined by Plant’s partner in crime Alison Krauss as well as Mavis Staples, Maren Morris and Celisse at Nelson’s annual Fourth of July Picnic.It should be noted that while the concert is taking place in Camden, NJ, it’s being labeled as a Philadelphia event.In step with that sentiment, Nelson shared a statement.“I am thrilled to bring the 4th of July Picnic to Philadelphia for the first time in our storied history,” the 90-year-old said in a press release. “It’s an honor to host such an extraordinary lineup of talent in the birthplace of our country.

Ravinia is pulling out all the stops this year.Highland Park, IL’s annual summer-long music festival just announced their 2024 lineup — with over 100 concerts scheduled — and it’s a doozy.This year’s edition features big names from yesteryear like James Taylor, Robert Plant with Alison Krauss, The Beach Boys with John Stamos, Mavis Staples, and Daryl Hall with Elvis Costello.Other icons set to grace the Ravinia Festival stages this year include Norah Jones, Little Feat, Gipsy Kings, OAR, and Melissa Etheridge with Indigo Girls.As of now, tickets can be scooped up for a handful of the 2024 concerts.Although inventory isn’t available on Ticketmaster until Wednesday, April 24, fans who want to ensure they have tickets ahead of time can purchase on sites like Vivid Seats before tickets are officially on sale.Vivid Seats is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.They have a 100% buyer guarantee that states your transaction will be safe and secure and will be delivered before the event.All Ravinia concerts with inventory available can be found below with performers, dates, show start times, and links to buy tickets.As mentioned earlier, over 100 acts are set to stop in Highland Park this year.For a fuller picture of the expansive multi-month lineup, you can find the full 2024 slate here.Need more multi-day jamborees?Here are just five of the biggest music festivals you won’t want to miss these next few months.Who else is on the road?Check out our list of the 50 biggest concerts in 2024 here to find out.

Norah Jones announced a brief tour in support of her upcoming album “Visions.”A little more than a month later, she’s added 24 more concerts to the ‘Visions Tour’ and will now be taking special guests Mavis Staples, Hurray For The Riff Raff, Sasha Dobson, Emily King and Martha Wainwright along with her on select dates.While on the road, Jones will make eight (!) stops in New York.First up, she’ll headline at Poughkeepsie’s Bardavon 1869 Opera House on May 7.After that, she’s slated to perform at Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre on May 10, Brooklyn’s Paramount Theatre on May 16-17, New York’s Apollo Theater on May 19, Saratoga Springs’ Freihofer’s Jazz Festival on June 30 and Canandaigua’s CMAC on July 5.Jones’ final NY gig will be at Buffalo’s Artpark Main Stage on July 6.But wait!There’s more!Prior to the ‘Visions Tour,’ the nine-time Grammy winner will also lend her talents to Mavis Staples’ 85th Birthday All-Star Concert in Inglewood, CA on April 18.

Thania Garcia Pussy Riot, the Russian feminist protest music and performance art group, will be accepting the 2023 Woody Guthrie Prize on May 6 in Tulsa at Cain’s Ballroom. The evening will conclude with Pussy Riot’s first-ever U.S. performance of “Riot Days,” a multi-media show that showcases the group’s music with documentary footage and political commentary. Members Maria “Masha” Alyokhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova will accept the prize on behalf of Pussy Riot, which also will be represented by founders Olga Borisova and Diana Burkot. Following the presentation by Nora Guthrie, Woody Guthrie’s daughter, the group will be interviewed by Robert Santelli, executive director of the Bruce Springsteen Archive and Center for American Music.

St. Vincent covered David Bowie‘s ‘Young Americans’ during a live performance this week – check the video below.The ‘Pay Your Way In Pain’ singer took to the stage at the Love Rocks charity gig in New York on Thursday night (March 9).

Jeff Tweedy has announced a new book, World Within A Song: Music That Changed My Life And Life That Changed My Music.Described as “an exciting and heartening mix of memories, music, and inspiration”, the memoir is due to arrive on November 7 via Dutton. You can pre-order it here.World Within A Song… serves as the Wilco frontman’s third book following on from 2018’s Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back) and 2020’s How To Write One Song.The forthcoming title sees Tweedy explore “50-plus songs that changed his life, the real-life experiences behind each one, as well as what he’s learned about how music and life intertwine and enhance each other”, per an official listing.Included are tracks by the likes of Billie Eilish, The Velvet Underground, The Replacements, Mavis Staples, Joni Mitchell, Otis Redding and Dolly Parton, with Tweedy also opening up about his own material.Jeff's third book WORLD WITHIN A SONG: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music will be available Nov.

IIggy Pop has covered Leonard Cohen‘s ‘You Want It Darker’ – listen to the atmospheric rendition of the track below.The track is the latest preview ‘Here It Is: A Tribute To Leonard Cohen’, a new tribute album to the late star that will be released next week (October 14).The album will feature covers from the likes of Norah Jones, James Taylor, Nathaniel Rateliff, Peter Gabriel, Iggy Pop, Mavis Staples and more. It’s been produced by Larry Klein and will feature 12 tracks from across his career – including ones from his 1967 debut ‘Songs Of Leonard Cohen’, and ones from his last album, ‘You Want It Darker’, which was released in 2016.Listen to Iggy Pop’s version of the ‘You Want It Darker’ title track below. “There’s nobody like Leonard, not in the whole world,” Iggy said in a statement.1. ‘Steer Your Way’ – Norah Jones2. ‘Here It Is’ – Peter Gabriel3. ‘Suzanne’ – Gregory Porter4. ‘Hallelujah’ – Sarah McLachlan5. ‘Avalanche’ – Immanuel Wilkins6. ‘Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye’ – Luciana Souza7. ‘Coming Back to You’ – James Taylor8. ‘You Want It Darker’ – Iggy Pop9. ‘If It Be Your Will’ – Mavis Staples10. ‘Seems So Long Ago, Nancy’ – David Gray11. ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ – Nathaniel Rateliff12. ‘Bird on The Wire’ – Bill FrisellLast month, a new documentary on Cohen, titled Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song, was released, focusing on his life and career through the focus of his most famous song.Reviewing the film, NME wrote: “There are as many ‘Hallelujah’ stories as people who’ve listened to it, of course, but in pinpointing a precious few, Hallelujah… does a fine job of unravelling just some of the song’s multitudes.”

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic If the planet was under threat of annihilation from beyond, and we had to present our divine or interplanetary overlords with just two musical emissaries to make a case that humankind is worth being spared as a species, Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples might be the couple we’d want to pick. Fortunately, with no such emergency yet in sight, they’ve managed to pair up of their own volition for a segment of Raitt’s current headlining tour that makes for a two-sided portrait of what heart, soul and understated heroism look like in music. Not that those kinds of superlatives showed up anywhere but in the subtext of Saturday night’s show at the Greek Theatre in L.A. It was a show where you could think about what Staples meant during the civil rights movement, and since, or about Raitt’s role as a warrior without uniform in the early days of women fighting to get their due in rock. Or you could just enjoy the chops and grease that feed into the respective performances of historically significant figures who wear their mantles as lightly as anything else they’d need to peel off upon stepping into a humid roadhouse.

Leonard Cohen is on the way later this year.Blue Note Records will release ‘Here It Is: A Tribute To Leonard Cohen’ on October 14. It will feature covers from the likes of Norah Jones, James Taylor, Nathaniel Rateliff, Peter Gabriel, Iggy Pop, Mavis Staples and more. It’s been produced by Larry Klein.The album will feature 12 tracks from across his career – including ones from his 1967 debut ‘Songs Of Leonard Cohen’, and ones from his last album, ‘You Want It Darker’, which was released in 2016.Today, Taylor’s take on ‘Coming Back To You’ from Cohen’s ‘Various Positions’ (1984) was shared – listen to it below.‘Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen’ Track List:1.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAt a time when live theater and events have struggled to shake off the COVID malaise, the Brooklyn Academy of Music has had one of its most successful seasons ever.More impressive than the records that BAM broke for buzzy shows such as “Cyrano,” the hot West End transfer that featured James McAvoy in the title role, is the fact that the arts venue was able to appeal to crowds who had never been to the complex before. Some 48% of ticket buyers were first-time visitors to BAM.

It’s the Uffiesance, bitch! The Ed Banger queen’s return to the spotlight continues with Sunshine Factory, her first full length since 2010’s Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans. Produced largely by Chaz Bear, aka Toro Y Moi, and released on his label Company Records, Sunshine Factory is a sprightly, insightful survey of Uffie 2.0 — a fun-loving record that takes time to explore what happens after the party, too.

In the early noughties, Levon Helm began hosting live shows he called Midnight Rambles in a studio at his home in Woodstock, NY. It was a rare bright moment in the story of what happened to the members of the Band who weren’t Robbie Robertson in the years following the quintet’s split, a grim saga involving bitter enmity, addiction, suicide, bankruptcy and jail.

Elvis Costello, Patti Smith and Mavis Staples will be among the dignitaries expected in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this weekend for the opening of the Bob Dylan Center, the museum and archive celebrating the Nobel laureate's work. Dylan himself won't be among them, unless he surprises everyone. The center's subject and namesake has an open invitation to come anytime, although his absence seems perfectly in character, said Steven Jenkins, the center's director.

NME about curating Brooklyn Academy of Music’s spring 2022 music series to “build a world around the vastness of Black performance”.Through multiple books, including Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes on A Tribe Called Quests and A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance, the National Book Award finalist and MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient has built a career focused on extending the “understanding of the multitudinous and global nature of Black performance.”With the intention of highlighting Black musicianship, celebrating the return of in-person communal experiences, and “expanding my imagining of what a live music concert can be”, the essayist and critic organised America’s oldest performing arts centre’s first foray into live music since the start of the COVID pandemic.The intimate and creative shows, which kicked off on February 25 and run until May 21, have featured Abdurraquib’s hand-picked selection of artists, including Moses Sumney, Bartees Strange, Devonté Hynes, and L’Rain, with performances from Mavis Staples and the premiere of Omar Offendum’s hip-hop musical, Little Syria set for next month.“It’s interesting to be in a position where you can do anything, because my initial response was, ‘Well I don’t wanna do anything’,” Abdurraquib told NME.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticWith its grand opening less than two weeks away, the Bob Dylan Center has announced Steven Jenkins as its director. He’s moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma to oversee the museum’s exhibitions, public programs and daily operations, following more than three decades of work with nonprofits in the San Francisco Bay areaThe hiring announcement comes as the BDC prepares for an opening weekend May 5-8 that will include a gala invitational dinner and celebratory concerts by Elvis Costello, Mavis Staples and Patti Smith.Said Jenkins in a statement, “As an avid listener and fascinated follower of Dylan’s every surprising and illuminating turn, his work has brought me a lifetime of aesthetic pleasures, confounding challenges and profound joy.

Chris Willman Music WriterEven if the band name Lucius doesn’t ring a bell, chances are you’ve seen frontwomen Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe at some point — guesting with someone else, if not out on their own — and asked, “Who are those two identical-twin singers… who are not actually identical, but close enough for rock ‘n’ roll?” The two women have forged a strong visual as well as musical identity by singing in perfect unison as well as dressing and styling alike.They’re certainly known, as a visual reference if not a proper name, to anyone who saw them prominently featured on Roger Waters’ 157-date “Us + Them” tour in 2017-18, and to many who’ve caught their featured appearances live or on record with the War on Drugs, Harry Styles, Sheryl Crow, Ozzy Osbourne and Mavis Staples, among others. And their audience for their own music is substantial, although it’s been a while since they properly cultivated it touring behind “Wildewoman” (2013), “Good Grief” (2016) or the semi-acoustic placeholder “Nudes” (2018). But with “Second Nature,” their first album of all-new material in six years, they’re no longer 20 feet or even a couple of yards from stardom, but reclaiming the spotlight for themselves.

NEW YORK -- Melissa Etheridge says the star-studded Love Rocks NYC benefit, the annual concert for the nonprofit God’s Love We Deliver, is exactly the kind of fundraiser she wanted to join.“I’ve wanted to be involved in this wonderful, wonderful project that has just done so much for so many for so many years,” the Grammy-winning “I’m the Only One” rocker said.This year’s Love Rocks, which takes place at The Beacon Theatre in Manhattan on Thursday night, boasts enormous star power – including headliners Etheridge, Keith Richards, with his “other” band The X-Pensive Winos, Mavis Staples, and others, as well as hosts including Kiefer Sutherland and Mario Cantone. But for Karen Pearl, God’s Love We Deliver’s president and CEO, what this one night generates for her group year-round is what makes it even more special.After two years of audiences limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event is back at full force.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorKeith Richards & the X-Pensive Winos, Mavis Staples, Hozier, Warren Haynes, Melissa Etheridge, Allison Russell and more will headline the sixth annual Love Rocks NYC benefit concert at New York’s Beacon Theatre on March 10.Larkin Poe, Tyler Bryant, David Shaw, Anders Osborne, Celisse, Ivan Neville, Jimmy Vivino, Maggie Rose and Connor Kennedy will also appear on the bill, with Will Lee serving as musical director.The concert is presented by the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation and will benefit God’s Love We Deliver. It is executive produced by fashion designer John Varvatos, NYC real estate broker and prominent concert producer Greg Williamson and concert/events producer Nicole Rechter.

Selome Hailu Epix announced that its upcoming adventure series “Billy the Kid” will premiere on April 24.The series follows famous outlaw William H. Bonney, a.k.a. Billy the Kid (Tom Blyth), from his Irish roots to his cowboy days on the American frontier, including his role in the Lincoln County War.The news came via Epix’s presentation at the Television Critics Association’s 2022 winter press tour, during which they also released a new trailer.Epix also announced three newly greenlit docuseries: “Women Who Rock,” Season 2 of “NFL Icons” and “The Making of a Haunting: The Amityville Murders.” “Women Who Rock” is a tribute to female pioneers in the music industry and features artists including Nancy Wilson, Chaka Khan, Pat Benatar, Mavis Staples, Sheila E, Macy Gray, Rickie Lee Jones, Norah Jones, Aimee Mann, Tori Amos, Kate Pierson, Tina Weymouth and Nona Hendrix.

Epix is continuing to rock with new music documentaries and is throwing some scares into the equation.

Wilco have concluded their Sky Blue Sky festival in Mexico with guest appearances from Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus and Spoon frontman Britt Daniel during their headlining set.The band brought out Malkmus to sing lead vocals on a cover of Pavement’s 1994 single ‘Cut Your Hair’, a song Wilco have covered several times over the years. Daniel, meanwhile, was enlisted on vocals and acoustic guitar during a performance of ‘Kamera’, lifted from Wilco’s 2001 album ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’.

Grace Jones, TLC and Tom Misch are among the first wave of acts announced for the first ever Kite Festival.The multi-day festival is set to take place next year across June 10-12 at Kirtlington Park, Oxford.

Bruce Springsteen has confirmed that he has a new record “coming out soon”.Springsteen was speaking recently at an event where he became the eighth recipient of the Woody Guthrie Prize.The award, which has been won previously by Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, John Mellencamp, Mavis Staples, Kris Kristofferson, Chuck D and Norman Lear, aims to honour an artist who speaks out for social justice in the way Guthrie did throughout his career.At the event Springsteen spoke about the influence of California

The Staple Singers, has died aged 85.Rolling Stone confirmed Staples’ passing with Adam Ayers, a member of Mavis Staples’ management team. Pervis died at his home in Dolton, Illinois on May 6, with no cause given.

CHICAGO -- Pervis Staples, whose tenor voice complimented his father’s and sisters’ in the legendary gospel group The Staple Singers, has died, a spokesman announced Wednesday. He was 85.Pervis Staples died May 7 at his home in Dalton, Illinois, according to Adam Ayers, a spokesman for Staples' sister, Mavis Staples.

Run The Jewels have announced the guest line-up for their special one-off TV performance of their latest album, ‘RTJ4’.Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha, Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, soul legend Mavis Staples, and comedian Eric André are set to join El-P and Killer Mike‘s broadcast.

Donald Trump wanted The Killers, Kiss, Celine Dion or Meatloaf to play his 2017 presidential inauguration.The claim came in a new book, Melania and Me, written by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff – a close friend and previous Senior Advisor to first lady Melania Trump.Other artists reportedly touted by the President were Aerosmith, Mavis Staples, Kelly Clarkson and Lynyrd Skynyrd.As shared in New York Magazine, Wolkoff remembered saying to the First Lady: “‘We don’t have any A-list performers locked

Mavis Staples. It was the soundtrack to the chicest honky-tonk in town.Two years later and Andrews has dimmed the porch light, kicked off her cowboy boots and sent the big band home, offering up instead the devastatingly intimate and open-hearted ‘Old Flowers’.

Dave Grohl, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Mavis Staples, Willie Nelson, Coldplay and more.

Americanafest, the annual Nashville conclave put on by the Americana Music Association, will morph into Thriving Roots: A Virtual Community Music Conference this year.Thriving Roots will take place Sept.

Americanafest, the annual Nashville conclave put on by the Americana Music Association, will morph into Thriving Roots: A Virtual Community Music Conference this year.Thriving Roots will take place Sept.

The duo are also launching their own cannabis line

Women including St. Vincent, Susanna Hoffs, Mavis Staples, Sheila E and even Misty Copeland highlight the Prince salute — but beware Philip Bailey's slayer falsetto, too.

The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) unveils the nominees for its 2020 A2IM Libera Awards which, for the first time, will take the form of a virtual ceremony.Chance the Rapper, FKA Twigs, Mavis Staples, Amyl and The Sniffers, Thom Yorke and Tycho are among the shortlisted artists for this year’s show, which coincides with A2IM’s 15th anniversary.The coveted album of the year category will be contested by FKA Twigs, Angel Olsen, Brittany Howard, Orville Peck and Big Thief, while