Mavis Staples

It’s practically impossible to overstate the cultural impact and musical influence of Mavis Staples. Thanks to her family’s constant activism and close friendship with Martin Luther King Jr., the mighty gospel tunes Mavis sang alongside her father and siblings as The Staple Singers soundtracked the civil rights movement as hits like “I’ll Take You There” topped the charts. More than five decades into her solo career, Staples has expanded her range of collaborators to include the likes of Prince, Bob Dylan, Arcade Fire, and Gorillaz, and she still hasn’t lost an inch of her stature. Following a string of releases featuring writing and production by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Staples’s latest album, We Get By, was written and produced by Ben Harper. While her Duke Performances show at The Carolina Theatre will certainly include some of this recent material, expect a career-spanning set that also includes Staple Singers classics and some smartly chosen covers.