Mavis Staples - Jazz, Funk & Blues Weekend

PART OF THE 2nd ANNUAL RIDGEFIELD JAZZ, FUNK & BLUES WEEKEND

Opening Act: King Solomon Hicks

Hailed by NPR as “one of America’s defining voices of freedom and peace,” Staples is the kind of once-in-a-generation artist whose impact on music and culture would be difficult to overstate. She’s both a Blues and a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer; a civil rights icon; a Grammy Award-winner; a chart-topping soul/gospel/R&B pioneer; a National Arts Awards Lifetime Achievement recipient; and a Kennedy Center honoree. She marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., performed at John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, and sang in Barack Obama’s White House. She’s collaborated with everyone from Prince and Bob Dylan to Arcade Fire and Hozier, blown away countless festivalgoers from Newport Folk and Glastonbury to Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, performed with The Band at The Last Waltz, and graced the airwaves on Fallon, Colbert, Ellen, Austin City Limits, Jools Holland, the Grammys, and more. At a time when most artists begin to wind down, Staples ramped things up, releasing a trio of critically acclaimed albums in her 70’s with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy that prompted Pitchfork to rave that “her voice has only gained texture and power over the years” and People to proclaim that she “provides the comfort of a higher power.” In between records with Tweedy, Staples teamed up with a slew of other younger artists — Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, Nick Cave, Valerie June, tUnE-yArDs, and M. Ward among others — for Livin’ On A High Note, an album The Boston Globe called “stunningly fresh and cutting edge” and which first introduced her to Grammy Award-winner Ben Harper, who produced her new album, We Get By.

Kicking off the night is “King” Solomon Hicks.  He has been called ‘Lil’ B.B. King by his fans. At the age of 13 Solomon started playing with the Cotton Club 17-piece band as Lead Guitarist and recorded his first CD, Embryonic, at age 14 with the Cotton Club All-Star Band.  He has been featured in The Washington Post, New York Daily News, The New York Times, Amsterdam News, November 2016 front cover of Blues Blast magazine, New Jersey Jazz Society News, and the PBS TV series American Music. Solomon has performed with Tony Bennett, The Destroyers (George Thorogood), Neal Evans (Soulive), Jimmy Vivino (Bandleader for Conan O’Brien), Sam Moore, Marcus King, Stax Songwriter William Bell, John Nemeth, Blind Boy Paxton, Roger Earl (Foghat), Kim Simmonds (Savoy Brown), Davey Knowles, Ne-Yo, Jon Hendricks, Mike Stern and Lee Ritenour.