Arts & Entertainment

Mavis Staples in Concert at WKCTC's Clemens Center

By WestKyStar & WKCTC Staff
Feb. 15, 2019 | PADUCAH

By WestKyStar & WKCTC Staff Feb. 15, 2019 | 04:47 PM | PADUCAH

The legendary Mavis Staples will grace the stage of West Kentucky Community and Technical College's Clemens Fine Arts Center February 21 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are going fast.

Staples has continuously crossed genre lines with her unique voice and style, 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 throughout her remarkable career, and she is still going strong as she nears her 80th birthday.

"It's kind of unbelievable to me that I'm still recording," said the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Kennedy Center Honoree. "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."

Mavis Staples is best known for her extensive gospel career with her family, The Staple Singers. She sang with her family for her first paying gig at Holy Trinity Baptist Church in 1948, moving over time from the gospel circuit to radio and eventually even to stadium shows, collecting a number one hit along the way and adding almost every musical form to her repertoire.

Staples has also established a hugely successful solo career, performing with artists such as Bob Dylan, Booker T., Ray Charles, Patty Griffin, Arcade Fire, among many others, and she has had music written for her by everyone from Prince and Nick Cave to Neko Case. Her voice has been sampled by some of the biggest selling hip-hop artists, including Salt 'N' Pepa, Ice Cube and Ludacris. "Bring us all together as a people-that's what I hope to do," said Staples.

The iconic singer retains astonishing power after seventy years as a performer, and that while her repertoire continues to expand, her philosophy is unchanged since her days in the groundbreaking family group.

"It's still the same message," she said. "I'm still trying to bring us together and make the world a better place through songs. I'm just singing for the people and expressing my feeling through the songs."

Todd Birdsong, the Clemens Fine Arts Center director, said having Mavis Staples on the Clemens Fine Arts Center stage will be phenomenal. "Mavis Staples is truly a music icon, and she has been instrumental in changing American music into what we know today," said Birdsong. "When she performs in concert at the CFAC, she will create memories we will never forget."

Birdsong encouraged people to get their tickets to the concert as soon as possible. "We are selling out fast, so it's important to get your tickets before they are gone. Don't miss this amazing opportunity to see Mavis live in concert at the CFAC."

Tickets can be purchased at artsinfocus.org or by calling Julie Moore at 270-534-3212.

View Online: http://westkentucky.meritpages.com/news/Music-Icon-Mavis-Staples-in-Concert-at-WKCTCs-Clemens-Fine-Arts-Center-February-21/7637

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