A lot of artists in the soul/gospel/R&B genre can trace their inspiration back to Mavis Staples, even if it’s a six-degrees-of-separation-type scenario. She’s a legend in the industry and as a civil rights activist, and she’s celebrating turning 85 this year with a star-studded celebration on April 18. The concert takes place at YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California.
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The celebration will include many artists who have found inspiration from Staples over the years. The lineup includes Chris Stapleton, Black Pumas, Grace Potter, The War and Treaty, and Keb’ Mo’, as well as Staples herself taking the stage. Additional artists include Hozier, Jackson Browne, Jeff Tweedy, Michael McDonald, Nathaniel Rateliff, Norah Jones, Robert Randolph, and Taj Mahal. More artists will be announced as the celebration gets closer.
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Staples is a champion of soul and gospel music, as well as an avid civil rights activist. She was notably featured on Hozier’s Wasteland, Baby! track “Nina Cried Power,” a song written in celebration of artist-activists of the Civil Rights Movement. The title itself is a nod to Nina Simone and her recording of “Sinnerman.”
As Hozier told Billboard in 2018, “When writing [“Nina Cried Power”], it was important to me to have Mavis [Staples] involved. She was kind of there at the beginning of the song. Even when the song was in its embryonic state and the idea of it was forming, I wanted to credit the legacy of the artists in that song and the names were kind of popping into my head, [and] I knew it needed Mavis.”
Mavis Staples’ actual birthday is on July 10, when she’ll officially turn 85. In her long career in blues, soul, gospel, and R&B, she’s won three GRAMMYs, including a Lifetime Achievement GRAMMY Award as part of the Staples Singers, and been inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Blues Hall of Fame. Additionally, she is a National Arts Awards Lifetime Achievement recipient and a Kennedy Center honoree.
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