Landmark on Main Street will host Mavis Staples in concert at the Jeanne Rimsky Theater on Sunday, June 4 at 7 p.m.
Staples is living, breathing history — an alchemist of American music, having continuously crossed genre lines like no musician since Ray Charles.
Weaving herself into the very fabric of gospel, soul, folk, pop, R&B, blues, rock, and hip hop over the last 60 years, this iconic singer has seen and sung through so many changes, always rising up to meet every road.
Now in her seventh decade, with the release of her new album, Livin’ on a High Note, she is only gaining momentum.
Produced by M. Ward with songs by Neko Case, Justin Vernon, Nick Cave, Ben Harper, Tune-Yards, Aloe Blacc and others, the album serves as a summation and furtherance of her illustrious career.
“I think about this album as a new beginning in my career,” says Staples. “I’m living on a high note, I’m floating on air. I know I don’t have as much time on this Earth as I’ve already had, but I see it as saying, ‘Mavis has been here, y’all.’ Before I move on, I just want to leave some Mavis with you that you’re not used to hearing. I want to leave you with some joy and love, and some don’t-forget-me songs.”
And with those words, her high note is revealed not as a pinnacle of ease and wealth but as a righteous life.
Staples shows us that true joy lies simply in living for others.
It’s the sermon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave many years ago, and Staples echoes it for us now.
Tickets for the performance are available through Landmark’s Box Office, 516-767-6444 and online at www.landmarkonmainstreet.org.
Premium $79 (Friends $74), Select $69 (Friends $64), Standard $59 (Friends $54).
All ticket prices include a $2 facilities fee for capital improvements.
This concert is made possible through the generous support of the Dot & Ed Slade Foundation.
Landmark’s 2017 season is made possible thanks to their Partners in Performing Arts: Harding Real Estate, Peter & Jeri Dejana Family Foundation, Peter A. Forman Charitable Foundation, Town of North Hempstead and Winthrop University Hospital.
