Ruthie Foster

In forming her signature sound, the Texas native absorbed the gospel of Mavis Staples and the soul music of Aretha Franklin that surrounding her from birth, blending it with the edgy social conscience culled from folk-rock and steeped in the blues she belted out on the Texas bar scene. Following a stint in the U.S. Navy, Foster decamped to New York, where she was offered a major label record deal with the idea that she would be groomed as a mainstream pop act. She stepped back from the deal and New York in order to follow her muse, and released her debut, Crossover, in 1999.
Now enjoying a lengthy relationship with the Austin-based Blue Corn Music label, Foster has produced eleven full-length studio albums including her latest, 2020’s Live at the Paramount, a GRAMMY-nominated live document of her big band at the venerable Austin theater, featuring a simmering cross section of originals, blues classics and pop standards arranged by jazz great John Beasley.