On Wednesday, November 19, an extraordinary collection of music artists will come together for I’LL TAKE YOU THERE – CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF MAVIS STAPLES, a special concert event taping honoring one of the most influential singers of our time. The concert will take place at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, IL, and will feature star-studded collaborations by esteemed artists paying tribute to Mavis Staples’ music. The initial lineup includes music artists: Gregg Allman, Ryan Bingham, Eric Church, Patty Griffin, Glen Hansard, Taj Mahal, Michael McDonald, Buddy Miller, Aaron Neville, Widespread Panic, Grace Potter, Mavis Staples, and Marty Stuart. Staples will take the stage to perform with a number of special guests throughout the night. Additional performers will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tickets go on sale Monday, September 29 at 10am CST via ticketmaster.com. Tickets will also be available at the Auditorium Theatre box office or by phone at 800-745-3000.
Grammy Award-winner Don Was will serve as music director, leading an all-star band backing the amazing performers who will take the stage at this incredible concert event taping. Keith Wortman is the creator and executive producer of the concert event. Was and Wortman’s recent work together includes extraordinary concert events honoring music icons such as Johnny Cash, Levon Helm and Gregg Allman, amongst others.I’LL TAKE YOU THERE – CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF MAVIS STAPLES will be filmed and recorded for multi-platform distribution.
“There isn’t anyone Mavis doesn’t touch on a deep level,” said Was. “Not just musicians, but humans everywhere. She is truly one of the most powerful and inspiring American singers of all time.” Wortman continued, “We are privileged to produce a show of this magnitude that honors the music, love, and light that Mavis has brought to all of us throughout her career and lifetime.”
Between the pedigree of Was and Wortman and the influence of Staples’ catalogue, I’LL TAKE YOU THERE – CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF MAVIS STAPLES is set to be one of the most memorable live music events of the year and decades to come.
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About Mavis Staples:
For six decades, Mavis Staples has been the solid rock of American music. Alongside the family group she is so indentified with, the Staple Singers, she has managed to transform herself as she goes, yet never alter. From the Delta-inflected gospel sound she helped create in the 1950s, to the engaged protest of the civil rights era, and then, amazingly, on pop radio in the Stax era with a series of soul anthems, from “I’ll Take You There” to “Respect Yourself,” Staples carried on, her warm embrace of a voice the only constant. How many musicians can claim this: to exist outside a scene, outside genre, yet weaving themselves into the fabric of soul, R&B, jazz, gospel, rock and blues? Many of the maverick names that come to mind are composers as well; that Staples has created her legacy as an interpreter of others makes her achievement all the more impressive. She gives voice to others; more than that, she gives voice to entire movements and to eras.
