![Mavis Staples](https://media.bandsintown.com/150x150/14316087.jpg)
Mavis Staples Tour Dates and Upcoming Concerts
Welcome to the official artist page for Mavis Staples – your premier destination for
the latest concert tickets, tour announcements, and exclusive shows near you. Dive into
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On tour
Yes
Followers
83,762
Category
Blues, Soul, Soul-blues, Blues Gospel, R&b, Gospel
Concerts
Aug
04
The Greek Theatre
Los Angeles
Tickets
Aug
06
The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park
San Diego
Tickets
Aug
15
Park City Song Summit 2024
Park City
Tickets
Aug
17
The Acorn
Three Oaks
Tickets
Aug
28
The Cabot
Beverly
Tickets
Aug
29
Payomet Performing Arts Center
North Truro
Tickets
Aug
31
Shenandoah Valley Music Festival 2024
Orkney Springs
Tickets
Sep
13
Blossoms & Bones Ghost Ranch Music Festival 2024
Abiquiu
Tickets
Sep
21
Broadview Stage at SPAC
Saratoga Springs
Tickets
Sep
29
Monterey Jazz Festival 2024
Monterey
Tickets
About Mavis Staples
While that duet alone would have been worth the trip from Chicago, Staples had in fact come to Woodstock to perform as part of Helm’s renowned Midnight Ramble series, and the ensuing concert—available now for the first time on the rousing new ANTI- Records release ‘Carry Me Home’—would mark a personal high watermark for both artists. Captured live in the summer of 2011, ‘Carry Me Home’ showcases two of the past century’s most iconic voices coming together in love and joy, tracing their shared roots and celebrating the enduring power of faith and music. The setlist was righteous that night, mixing vintage gospel and soul with timeless folk and blues, and the performances were loose and playful, fueled by an ecstatic atmosphere that was equal parts family reunion and tent revival. Read between the lines, though, and there’s an even more poignant story at play here. Neither Staples nor Helm knew that this would be their last performance together—the collection marks one of Helm’s final recordings before his death—and listening back now, a little more than a decade later, tunes like “This May Be The Last Time” and “Farther Along” take on new, bittersweet meaning. The result is an album that’s at once a time capsule and a memorial, a blissful homecoming and a fond farewell, a once-in-a-lifetime concert—and friendship—preserved for the ages.
“It never crossed my mind that it might be the last time we’d see each other,” says Staples. “He was so full of life and so happy that week. He was the same old Levon I’d always known, just a beautiful spirit inside and out.”
Though Staples and Helm got on like childhood pals, the two were already both stars in their own right by the time they first met at the 1976 filming of ‘The Last Waltz’. Critics would go on to cite The Staple Singers’ collaboration with The Band on “The Weight” as a high point of the film, and Mavis and Levon would remain close friends in the decades to come, but it was unclear if the pair would ever get to sing together again after Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998. More than two dozen radiation treatments robbed him of his voice, and, as Helm told Fresh Air’s Terry Gross in a 2007 interview, “I had a period of time there for about two-and-a-half years or so where I had to whisper or write you a note to tell you what I wanted you to know.” But when Staples arrived in Woodstock for the Ramble, the ever-resilient Helm was in the midst of a genuine renaissance. The cancer was in remission, his voice had returned, and he’d won a pair of GRAMMY Awards for his two most recent solo albums (he’d take home his third less than a year later). On top of all that, Helm, much like Staples, was now more in demand than ever, sought out by a younger generation of artists who rightfully revered him not only as one of the greatest drummers of all time, but as a patron saint of the American musical canon.
“My dad built The Midnight Rambles to restore his spirit, his voice, and his livelihood,” says Helm’s daughter, Amy, who sang backup vocals with her father and Staples at their performance. “He’d risen back up from all that had laid him down, and to have Mavis come sing and sanctify that stage was the ultimate triumph for him.”
Opened to the public in 2004, The Barn—which still hosts regular concerts and recording sessions to this day—is a magnificent, rustic space with broad wooden beams and a soaring, vaulted ceiling. Helm and fellow Band-mate Garth Hudson designed the room to be both sonically and socially perfect, an intimate gathering place where musicians and their fans could join in a shared night of musical transcendence. It’s not a particularly large venue—there’s only room for 200 or so listeners, with those in the front row close enough to reach out and touch the band—but step inside and you’ll immediately understand why everyone from Emmylou Harris and Elvis Costello to Phil Lesh and Jackson Browne has made the pilgrimage to perform there.
“There’s just an aura,” says Staples. “A good feeling comes over you the moment you walk in. It feels like home.”
Staples spent five or six days in Woodstock before her performance, laughing and trading stories and going for walks around the property with Helm. As she recalls, there was very little rehearsing going on—save for a memorable moment when Helm sat down at his grandson’s tiny drum set to run a tune with her—but Amy remembers her father practicing for hours on end before the concert, determined to make sure everything was just right.
“Everybody in the Ramble band was laughing because it was the first and last time we’d ever seen my dad show up for rehearsals like that,” says Amy. “He would have done anything for Mavis.”
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 three-time GRAMMY Award winner (and a GRAMMY lifetime achievement award); a chart-topping soul, gospel, and R&B pioneer; a National Arts Awards Lifetime Achievement recipient; named to Rolling Stone’s Top 200 Singers of All Time at #46; 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. Over the past few decades alone, she’s collaborated with everyone from Prince and Bob Dylan to Arcade Fire and Bon Iver, blown away countless festivalgoers from Newport Folk and Glastonbury to Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, and graced the airwaves on Fallon, Colbert, Ellen, Austin City Limits, Jools Holland, and the GRAMMYs. But to Helm, Mavis was more than all that. She was the truth.
“My dad was very spiritual, and the music that Mavis and her family made was sacred to him,” says Amy. “He absolutely revered and respected the Staple Singers.”
The pair’s mutual love and admiration is on full display on ‘Carry Me Home’, which features a mix of Staples’ and Helm’s bands operating at the peak of their powers as they work their way through an eclectic setlist of tunes made famous by the likes of Nina Simone, The Impressions, Bob Dylan, and The Rolling Stones. Gospel classics like “Hand Writing On The Wall” and “Farther Along” (arranged here as a stunning a capella performance) take the audience to church with Sunday morning fervor; Civil Rights anthems like “This Is My Country” and “I Wish I knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” highlight the struggle for justice and equality that still rages today; and aching renditions of Buddy Miller’s “Wide River To Cross” and Helm’s “When I Go Away” meditate on aging and mortality. Staples and the night’s soulful crew of backup singers handle the vast majority of the vocal work here, but it’s perhaps album closer “The Weight,” which features Helm chiming in with lead vocals for the first time, that stands as the concert’s most emotional moment.
“The place just went wild when Levon sang,” says Staples. “It was a real full-circle moment to be performing that song together again.”
When it was all over, Staples could hardly believe how quickly the time had flown. She dreaded the thought of leaving Woodstock, of leaving Levon, but duty called her back on the road, and so she ended her week the way it began: with a long embrace.
“We hugged and hugged and hugged,” Staples recalls. “I just held on to him. I didn’t know it’d be the last time, but in my heart and in my mind, Levon will always be with me because I take him everywhere I go. Yes, indeed. I can see him right now. And some sweet day, we’ll be together again."
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Genres
Blues, Soul, Soul-blues, Blues Gospel, R&b, Gospel
Band members
Saundra Williams - vocals, Rick Holmstrom - guitar & vocals, Steve Mugalian - drums, Greg Boaz - bass, Donny Gerrard - vocals, Mavis Staples - lead vocals
Photos
![concert photo](https://media.bandsintown.com/300x300/14313149.webp)
![concert photo](https://media.bandsintown.com/300x300/14190378.webp)
![concert photo](https://media.bandsintown.com/300x300/12578680.webp)
![concert photo](https://media.bandsintown.com/300x300/12192631.webp)
![concert photo](https://media.bandsintown.com/300x300/9124949.webp)
![concert photo](https://media.bandsintown.com/300x300/9124948.webp)
What fans are saying
Georgie
She was wonderful and amazing as was the whole band! I dropped a package for her and I hope she gets it!
The Barns at Wolf Trap
Vienna, VA
Feb 24, 2022
k
Mavis opened for Trombone Shorty so her set was shorter. Her band is tight and her energy is remarkable. Glad we attended.
Cape Cod Melody Tent
Hyannis, MA
Jun 10, 2023
Jim
Was amazing.Mavis is still a hero. NATHANIEL RATELIFF did a song with her. Best show at Luck Reunion
Luck Reunion
Spicewood, TX
Mar 16, 2019
Jacqueline
Wow! Just wow! First time seeing Mavis Staples and what a wonderful venue for a amAzing cause.
Cahn Auditorium
Evanston, IL
Dec 03, 2023
Shane
Mavis is 84 years old, and STILL killing it! I hope to be doing this when I’m 84!
Pinewood Bowl Theater
Lincoln, NE
Aug 12, 2023
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Mavis Staples Tour Cities
Los Angeles, CA
Beverly, MA
San Diego, CA
Saratoga Springs, NY
Monterey, CA
Park City, UT
Three Oaks, MI
Frequently Asked Questions About Mavis Staples
Concerts & Tour Date Information
Is Mavis Staples on tour?
Yes, Mavis Staples is currently on tour. If you’re interested in attending an upcoming
Mavis Staples concert, make sure to grab your tickets in advance. The Mavis Staples tour
is scheduled for 10 dates across 7 cities. Get
information on all upcoming tour dates and tickets for 2024-2025 with Hypebot.
How many upcoming tour dates is Mavis Staples scheduled to play?
Mavis Staples is scheduled to play 10 shows between 2024-2025. Buy
concert tickets to a nearby show through Hypebot.
When does the Mavis Staples tour start?
Mavis Staples’s tour starts Aug 04, 2024 and ends on Sep 29, 2024.
They will play 7 cities; their most recent concert was held in
Los Angeles at The Greek Theatre and their next upcoming concert
will be in North Truro at Payomet Performing Arts Center.
What venues is Mavis Staples performing at?
As part of the Mavis Staples tour, Mavis Staples is scheduled to play across the following
venues and cities:
2024 Tour Dates:
Aug 04 - Los Angeles,
CA @ The Greek Theatre
Aug 06 - San Diego,
CA @ The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park
Aug 15 - Park City,
UT @ The Marquis
Aug 17 - Three Oaks,
MI @ The Acorn
Aug 28 - Beverly,
MA @ The Cabot
Aug 29 - North Truro,
MA @ Payomet Performing Arts Center
Aug 31 - Orkney Springs,
VA @ Shenandoah Valley Music Festival
Sep 13 - Abiquiu,
NM @ Ghost Ranch
Sep 21 - Saratoga Springs,
NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC
Sep 29 - Monterey,
CA @ Artichoke Festival