BETTYE LAVETTE

Artist Description

An R&B diva with a sharp, distinctive vocal style that balances passion, ferocity, and confidence, Bettye LaVette experienced early success before spending years as a cult figure among fans of vintage soul (especially in Europe and the U.K.), only to find a new and appreciative audience in the 2000s. LaVette has a strong, clear voice that can caress or cut deep at will, and while she rarely writes her material, she’s a gifted interpreter, giving songs a reading that fills them with her own personality while bringing out unexplored facets of the author’s work. From her first single in 1962, “My Man — He’s a Loving Man,” LaVette has been a clever and impassioned vocalist, but ironically, it was her more mature work of the late ’60s onward where she developed the instincts that truly set her apart. 2005’s I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise was a studio set that presented her in utterly uncompromised fashion and demonstrated she was one of the strongest and savviest soul singers alive. A series of critically celebrated albums followed, most thematic in nature, including 2007’s The Scene of the Crime (a collaboration with the alt-country act the Drive-By Truckers), 2010’s Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook, and 2018’s Things Have Changed (devoted to songs written by Bob Dylan).