Legendary blues and gospel singer Mavis Staples is celebrating her 85th birthday in Inglewood with a star-studded lineup of players at YouTube Theater on Thursday, April 18.
Produced by Blackbird Presents, the lineup features artists who have been influenced by Staples’ soulful sounds of rhythm and blues, including Black Pumas, Chris Stapleton, Grace Potter, Hozier, Jackson Browne, Jeff Tweedy, Keb’ Mo’, Michael McDonald, Nathaniel Rateliff, Norah Jones, Robert Randolph, Taj Mahal and The War and Treaty. Additional talent will be revealed in the coming months. Staples herself is also set to grace the stage.
“At the end of last year, I was talking about retiring,” she shared in a statement in a press release on Monday, Feb. 12. “But after sitting with it for a while, I stopped myself and thought, ‘Well, what would I do?’ I asked the Lord, ‘Why am I still here? What do you want of me? Have you kept me around for a reason?’ And the only reason I could see is to sing my songs. That’s why I’m still here, and I’m looking forward to this show with my friends singing my songs, too!”
Tickets for the general public go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 16 at Ticketmaster.com. An artist presale will also be available for fans starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13. For more show details visit mavisstaples85.com.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, who officially turns 85 on July 10, released “Carry Me Home,” a collaboration with roots drummer Levon Helm, in 2022. It’s a collection of sessions recorded at Helm’s studio in 2011, shortly before his death.