Mavis Staples’ 80th birthday will be commemorated with a trio of concerts this spring. She’s also releasing a new album, We Get By, via Anti Records on May 10.
The February 12 concert announcement comes from the Newport Folk Festival which will present the celebratory shows of the musical legend.
The concerts will take place this May at New York City’s Apollo Theater, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and Los Angeles’ Theatre at The Ace Hotel. “Mavis & Friends: Celebrating 80 Years of Mavis Staples” will feature Staples and special guests each night.
“I must be the happiest girl in the world,” said Staples, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee in 1999 and Kennedy Center Honoree in 2016. “After all this time, I still do what I love … I never thought I would still be singing at my age, and people seem to really want to hear me, they know me, they give me love—I’m just overwhelmed, really. I thank God every night before I go to bed and then again every morning for waking up.”
Tickets are available here.
Staples was born July 10, 1939. Her new studio album is produced by Ben Harper and preceded by a first release, “Change.”
Proceeds from the Mavis & Friends shows will go directly towards extending the Newport Festivals Foundation’s support of music education programs in New York, Nashville, and Los Angeles.
Mavis & Friends 80th Birthday Concert Dates
May 09 – New York, NY – Apollo Theater
May 15 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
May 22 – Los Angeles, CA – The Theater at The Ace Hotel
Jun 23 – Dublin, Ireland – Olympia Theatre
Jun 27 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Koninklijk Theater Carre
Jul 04 – London, UK – Roundhouse
Jul 17 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up
Sep 06 – Philadelphia, PA – The Mann
Related: Staples’ induction in the Blues Hall of Fame
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