Description

Soul/gospel legend, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, and civil rights icon Mavis Staples will release her second collaboration with Wilcos Jeff Tweedy, One True Vine, on June 24th via Anti. The follow-up to 2010s Grammy-winning You Are Not Alone, One True Vine finds Staples traversing darker terrain with stark, acoustic arrangements and the most honest, unvarnished vocal performances of her career. Featuring ten tracks including new compositions written specifically for Staples by Tweedy and Nick Lowe along with covers ranging from Funkadelic to Low the record is the most personal and emotional statement from the American treasure (Chicago Tribune) yet.

Recorded at The Loft, Wilcos studio in Chicago, the album features Jeff Tweedy on nearly every instrument except drums, which were played by Tweedys 17-year-old son Spencer. From album opener Holy Ghost, written by Lows Alan Sparhawk, to the new Tweedy composition Jesus Wept, the gravity in Staples voice is transfixing, heavy with burdens but blessed with the promise of true redemption that shines through on Nick Lowes deft and driving Celestial Shores, Funkadelics Can You Get To That, and Pops Staples uplifting I Like The Things About Me.

Staples last collaboration with Tweedy, You Are Not Alone, earned her the highest Billboard chart debut of her 50+ year career, her first Grammy award, and universal critical acclaim. Mavis performed at the Kennedy Center Honors, took the stage at Jon Stewart and Stephen Colberts massive televised Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, and performed at the NAACP Image Awards and 2011 VH1 Divas broadcast. She also provided one of the most indelible moments of the 2013 Grammy telecast with a moving tribute to Levon Helm alongside Elton John, Mumford & Sons, Brittany Howard, T Bone Burnett, and Zac Brown.