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Series of Closeups of World-Class Performers Supporting Family Farmers
Multi-award winning singer Mavis Staples opened the evening sets of headline performers at the 39th annual Farm Aid Festival, held Saturday (September 21) at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York. And if you didn't know in advance of her nearly 70 years as a singer and social justice advocate, you probably wouldn't have thought she had turned 85 years old in July, as she sang with the power and presence for which she is known.
The Chicago native first gained public attention in the mid-1950s as a member of her family's The Staple Singers, one of the first gospel-inflected groups to cross over to the popular music charts with songs such as their signature "I'll Take You There."
After joining in civil rights actions led by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others — and singing at John F. Kennedy's presidential inaugural in 1961 — she established a solo career in 1969 that has earned her places in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame, as well as a Kennedy Center Honor.
This was the latest of her multiple performances at Farm Aid Festivals, which raise funds and public attention for the musician-driven non-profit's efforts to support family farmers and build a better food system. I had the privilege to attend on behalf of Local Food Forum and to spend some time in the photographer pit just below the stage.
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