The Bob Dylan Center presents an evening with the legendary Mavis Staples, who previously appeared at Cain’s Ballroom to kick off the center’s VIP Opening Weekend in May 2022. Staples now returns for a rousing evening of raise-the-roof R&B classics. Hailed by NPR as “one of America’s defining voices of freedom and peace,” Staples is a once-in-a-generation artist whose impact on music and culture is profound and enduring, and whose passionate artistry is matched by her fierce commitment to social justice. She marched with MLK, performed at John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, sang at Barack Obama’s White House, and has collaborated with Bob Dylan, Prince, Wilco and Bon Iver. As Levon Helm of The Band once said, Staples is, simply, “the truth.”

This special event will benefit the Bob Dylan Center’s education programs, which provide music-based learning and enrichment opportunities for thousands of K–12 students annually. The concert will be preceded by a brief ceremony featuring the recipients of the inaugural Mavis Staples Freedom Highway Essay Award, for which students reflect on the ways in which music can serve as a catalyst for positive change.

Many thanks to Bob Dylan Center Founding Partners Bob Ramsey and Jenny Norton for supporting the Mavis Staples Freedom Highway Essay Award.

Details

Saturday, May 25

Doors: 7 p.m.

Show: 8 p.m.

Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N. Main Street, Tulsa, OK 74103

Tickets

$50 general admission

$40 Bob Dylan Center members

General admission all-seated show. Limited stageside table seating available; please contact events@bobdylancenter.com.