KCP Presents

Bettye LaVette

Friday, October 26th @ 7PM

Fuller Hall | St. Johnsbury Academy | St Johnsbury VT

–Get Tickets and Event Info –

“Soul singing doesn’t get any better.” — New York Times

Three-time Grammy nominee Bettye LaVette is no mere singer. She is not a songwriter, nor is she a “cover” artist. She is an interpreter of the highest order. Bettye was performing during the birth of soul music in the 60s and she’s still creating vital recordings today. To quote the late, great George Jones: “Bettye is truly a ‘singer’s singer’.”

Soul diva Bettye LaVette recorded her first hit at 15 (Let Me Down Easy) and toured with soul pioneers Otis Redding, Ben E. King and James Brown. Although the recording industry proved fickle, LaVette has performed consistently during the past half-century, gaining cult followings in Europe and across the U.S.

During the 1990’s and 2000’s, Bettye began to gain wider appeal, performing Love Reign O’er Me at The Kennedy Center Honors in a tribute to The Who. She brought the house down and suddenly found a whole new audience for her unparalleled style of blues and soul singing. In 2009 she performed a show-stopping rendition of Sam Cooke’s A Change Is Gonna Come with Jon Bon Jovi for President-elect Obama’s kick-off Inaugural concert. In April of that year she shared the stage with Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr at Radio City Music Hall.

And in late 2016, her friend, photographer Carol Friedman, pitched Bettye the idea of doing an album of all Bob Dylan songs, with Grammy Award-winning producer, Steve Jordan. The resulting Verve Records album “Things Have Changed” was born. Bettye LaVette’s interpretations of these Bob Dylan songs will be featured in our concert.

LaVette has received the Blues Music Award for Best Soul Blues Female Artist from The Blues Foundation. She has appeared on National Public Radio’s World Cafe, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, and performed a Tiny Desk Concert. She has also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with David Letterman, Late Night With Conan O’Brien, Austin City Limits, A Prairie Home Companion, and more.

With a voice that critics today compare to the early Tina Turner, Bettye LaVette continues to break new ground.