- in Entertainment News by Mike
Mavis Staples And Patty Griffin Tour Sweet Harmony Soul
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THREE-ARTIST SLATE ‘SWEET HARMONY SOUL’ TO TOUR U.S. IN JULY 2015 Patty Griffin & Mavis Staples Co-Headline 12-date run from Great Lakes to Pacific Northwest Special Guest Amy Helm & The Handsome Strangers Support
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One of the summer’s most moving and powerful lineups will take the stage in eight states between July 8 and 26, 2015. The Patty Griffin/Mavis Staples-anchored “Sweet Harmony Soul” kicks off July 8 in Interlochen, MI, with the full tour to be announced later this month. Amy Helm and her band will open the run. Seeds for this July’s tour were planted when Griffin and Staples met in late 2007 at a recording session for the Grammy-winning gospel duets album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration, released in 2009. The session, where the two recorded “Waiting For My Child To Come Home,” was a harbinger of things to come for both artists, as Griffin next recorded a gospel record, and Mavis turned to Americana and acoustic sounds on her records produced by WILCO’s Jeff Tweedy. Now, nearly eight years later, the singers will take the bond formed in the studio on the road. “Mavis is such a rare, important role model, and her legacy is still going strong,” Griffin says. “She’s still out there talking the talk and walking the walk. Anytime I get the chance to be around Mavis, I grab it.” Staples in turn said, “What big fun we are going to have on the road when we hook up with my baby sister Patty Griffin. I’m ready to roll for these dates and can’t wait to get out there with her and Amy.” Praise for Mavis and Patty: “Mavis Staples, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, and Patty Griffin, an Austin-based Grammy winner, would seem polar opposites. Ms. Staples grew up on the south side of Chicago, establishing her gospel and rhythm and blues prowess during the civil rights era with her family’s band, the Staple Singers, while Ms. Griffin was raised in Maine and honed her skills as a solo folk act on the coffee house circuit. Both have an extraordinary gift for inspiring hope through verse.” – New York Times “In full voice – that lustrous, gritty, knee-weakening alto – Staples held sway throughout. That Staples delivered such a robust performance would have been more than enough, but the night carried an extra special charge thanks to singer-songwriter Patty Griffin. Griffin turned in a brooding, poignant, set, and as she wrapped her exquisite voice around the climactic chorus on ‘Up to The Mountain,’ it did almost feel as the grand theater space was positively vibrating.” – Fort Worth Star-Telegra Watch the two singers during the 2007 recording session:
Sweet Harmony Soul Tour Dates 7/8 – Interlochen, MI – Interlochen Center for the Arts (Kresge Auditorium) 7/9- Grand Rapids, MI – Meijer Gardens Amphitheatre 7/11 – Bayfield, WI – Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua 7/14 – Boulder, CO – Chautauqua Auditorium 7/16 – Arvada, CO – Arvada Center 7/17 – Avon, CO – Vilar Performing Arts Center 7/18 – Alta, WY – Grand Targhee Fest 7/21 – San Diego, CA – Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay 7/23 – Saratoga, CA – Montalvo Arts Center
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