Event Calendar

Grim days call for fierce love. And Mavis Staples, one of the most enduring figures in American music, is laying it down. Sad And Beautiful World is the latest solo album from a national treasure and multigenerational talent. On it, she stands side by side with us in the face of dangers she knows all too well, at a time when more and more people have reason to wonder who and what could be lost. 

Now 86, Mavis Staples has been performing since the age of eight. After starting out with her father Roebuck "Pops" Staples, sisters Cleotha and Yvonne, and brother Pervis in the Staple Singers more than seventy years ago, she's the lone surviving member of the group, still carrying her family's gifts and knowledge with her as a living heritage. 

Inducted into multiple halls of fame (blues, rock, and gospel), a Kennedy Center Honoree, a winner of multiple GRAMMY Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award), Mavis is our musical history. She's collaborated with every major figure of her era(s), from Bob Dylan to Prince, Aretha Franklin, and Willie Nelson — not to mention countless stars from subsequent generations. 

Sad And Beautiful World spans seven decades of the American songbook — a range nearly as vast as Mavis' career — and includes reinventions of timeless songs as well as original music and cameos by artists who have become part of Mavis' world, many of whom are legends in their own right: Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Jeff Tweedy, Derek Trucks, Katie Crutchfield, MJ Lenderman, Justin Vernon, and others shine a light on her, while Mavis does what only she can do. Embracing vulnerability, she sings close and deep here, drawing the listener into a circle filled with her unforgettable presence. 

Tickets: Level I $125 / Level II $90 / Level III $70 

Ticket cost includes a facility fee valued at $1, $2, or $3 based on price of the ticket. Tickets for non-Sunset Presents performances may also include a box office fee not to exceed $4. When purchasing tickets online or over the phone, a convenience fee of $4.50 will be charged. These fees are non-negotiable. For more information about any of these fees, please view our FAQ.