Mavis Staples Reveals Outrageous All-Star Lineup For 85th Birthday Concert

On April 18, Mavis Staples will celebrate her 85th birthday with an incredible roster of guest artists at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California. Black Pumas, Chris Stapleton, Grace Potter and Hozier are among the superstar musicians set to join the iconic vocalists by participating in Mavis Staples 85th: All-Star Birthday Concert.

Jackson Browne, Jeff Tweedy, Keb’ Mo’, Michael McDonald, Nathaniel Rateliff, Norah Jones, Robert Randolph, Taj Mahal and The War And Treaty round out the initial Mavis 85th lineup. Additional artists will be announced in the weeks to come.

Blackbird Presents, the team behind last year’s Willie Nelson 90 concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, will produce Mavis Staples 85th: All-Star Birthday Concert in partnership with Live Nation. Don Was has been tapped as the concert’s music director.

The beloved Mavis Staples was born on July 10, 1939 in Chicago. Mavis came to fame as a member of The Staple Singers, a family band led by her father Roebuck “Pops” Staples that included siblings Pervis, Yvonne and Cleotha. Mavis has spent the 21st century collaborating with a who’s who of notable musicians, many of whom are on the Mavis Staples 85th: All-Star Birthday Concert lineup. The vocalist has toured hard and released numerous studio albums over the past two decades.

“At the end of last year, I was talking about retiring,” Mavis Staples explained in a press release. “But after sitting with it for a while, I stopped myself and thought, ‘Well, what would I do?’ I asked the Lord, ‘Why am I still here? What do you want of me? Have you kept me around for a reason?’ And the only reason I could see is to sing my songs. That’s why I’m still here, and I’m looking forward to this show with my friends singing my songs, too!”

Tickets will be available for purchase beginning at 10 a.m. PT this Friday, February 16. Buy Mavis Staples 85th: All-Star Birthday Concert tickets via Ticketmaster.com.