Mavis Staples at the Damrosch Park Bandshell

Rick Holmstrom & Mavis Staples

Born in Chicago, Illinois, a nine-year-old Mavis Staples began singing with her family group, the Staples Singers, at churches and on a weekly radio show. Led by family patriarch Roebuck "Pops" Staples on guitar and including the voices of Mavis and her siblings Cleotha, Yvonne, and Pervis, the Staples scored a hit in 1956 with "Uncloudy Day." When Mavis graduated from high school in 1957, the Staples Singers took their music beyond the local circuit. By the mid-1960s, Pops had a close friendship with Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Staples Singers became the musical voices of the civil rights movement. Mavis began doubling group work with a solo career in 1969. The Staples Singers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 and were honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. In 2011, Mavis won her first Grammy award. Her 14th and most recent studio album, If All I Was Was Black, was released on November 17, 2017; following the release, Staples toured with Bob Dylan.

The annual summer-long Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors series closed its 2018 season as usual with a two-day Americana festival at the Damrosch Park Bandshell and Mavis Staples headlined the first of the two nights. Backed by a trio of musicians (guitarist Rick Holmstrom, bassist Jeff Turmes, drummer Stephen Hodges) and two vocalists (Donny Gerrard, Vicki Randle), Staples performed an earthy set of rootsy folk-styled rhythm & blues with old-time gospel inflections. The sparse but tasty instrumentation behind Staples accented her uniquely hearty, gutsy vocal delivery. Many of the songs flowed with political and social messages that were not tied to specific historical moments but voiced an eternal call for justice, equity and peace. Between songs at one point, Staples told the audience that she would rather offer love than anger. Staples has offered this same product to audiences for about 70 years, and it remains as classy and timeless as ever.

Visit Mavis Staples at www.mavisstaples.com.