News & Events

Grammy Winner Mavis Staples to Perform at UNC Asheville

March 9, 2012

Mavis Staples, one of America’s most enduring and best loved vocalists, will perform in concert at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 31, in UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium.

Staples made her name as a singer of gospel and rhythm & blues. Her most recent album, “You are Not Alone,” won the 2011 Grammy Award for best Americana Album.

Staples began her career in 1950 as a member of her family’s popular gospel group, the Staple Singers. Her father, Pops Staples, was a close friend of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Staple Singers became a leading musical voice of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. In the early 1970s, the group merged gospel harmonies with pop and funk sensibilities and reached the Billboard Top 40 eight times, including number-one hits “Respect Yourself” and “I’ll Take You There.”

In her solo career, Staples has recorded in many different styles with a wide range of musical collaborators, including jazz guitarist John Schofield, Patti Griffin, George Jones, Delbert McClinton, Los Lobos and Dr. John. Her 2003 duet with Bob Dylan was Grammy-nominated. Staples was named one of the 100 greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone magazine and one of the 100 greatest women of rock and roll by VH1.

This concert is sponsored by the UNC Asheville’s Cultural Events and Special Academic Programs. Tickets are $35; $7 for students. For tickets and information, visit the Cultural Events website or call 828.251.6674.