GENEVA --- The Smith Center for the Arts presents An Intimate Evening with Bettye LaVette on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. The concert features Evan Mercer on piano. Syracuse jazz vocalist Ronnie Leigh will open the show.
The powerhouse soul singer will perform with keyboardist Evan Mercer. The show will features songs that LaVette, considered an “interpreter of highest order,” has performed over the course of her 56-year career, including songs that she used to perform in small Detroit clubs before her 21st century resurgence began.
The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Bruce Springsteen are just a few of the artists who have had their work re-imagined by LaVette. To quote the late George Jones, “Bettye is truly a ‘singer’s singer.’”
LaVette recently released an album of Bob Dylan songs titled “Things Have Changed.”
LaVette’s career began in 1962 in Detroit, when she was 16. Her first single “My Man – He’s a Loving Man,” was released on Atlantic Records. From the 1960s to the 1980s she recorded for numerous major labels, including Atco, Epic and Motown.
The 2000s started what she calls her “fifth career.” Her CD, “A Woman Like Me,” won the W.C. Handy Award in 2004 for Comeback Blues Album of the Year. She was also given a prestigious Pioneer Award by The Rhythm & Blues Foundation. She has received Blues Music Awards for Best Contemporary Female Blues Singer and Best Soul Blues Female Artist. She recorded four CDs for indie label ANTI- Records, two of which received Grammy nominations. Her 2015 CD, “Worthy,” was also nominated for a Grammy.
To learn more about LaVette, go to www.bettyelavette.com.
Reserved seating tickets for An Intimate Evening with Bettye LaVette are $29.50 to $49.50 plus service fees and can be purchased at the Smith Opera House Box Office or online at www.thesmith.org.
The Smith Center for the Arts, stewards of the historic Smith Opera House, provides diverse arts and educational enrichment opportunities year-round for Finger Lakes residents and visitors. The Smith Opera House is at 82 Seneca St. in Geneva, NY. Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. For more information, call 315-781-5483 during box office hours or visit www.thesmith.org.