(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – Bettye LaVette, a hard-working, distinctive R&B singer in the vein of Aretha Franklin, whose career stretches back to the early 1960s as a teen star, who then lost the spotlight for decades only to have it find her again in recent years, will perform at MASS MoCA on Saturday, July 6, 2013, at 8pm.

LaVette’s career reached an early peak in 1965, with the song, “Let Me Down Easy.” A tour with James Brown followed, but LaVette would never again enjoy such success until she was nearly 60 years old, in the year 2005, when her album, I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise – featuring renditions of contemporary songs by the likes of Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann, Sinead O’Connor, Lucinda Williams, and Dolly Parton – sparked a full-fledged late-career comeback.

LaVette went on to receive a 2011 Grammy Nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album for Interpretations – The British Rock Songbook, which featured songs by The Beatles, Rolling Stones, the Who, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd among others.

LaVette performed at the Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in a duet with Jon Bon Jovi in January 2009, and she performed with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Radio City Music Hall in New York for David Lynch Foundation’s Transcendental Meditation Benefit in April 2009. In 2010, LaVette was chosen to support Robert Plant on select dates of his US Summer Tour. She returned to Carnegie Hall in 2011 as a featured performer at the tribute event, The Music of Neil Young at Carnegie Hall. This was her third performance at the legendary hall, having previously been featured in benefits including tributes to Joni Mitchell (2006) and The Who (2010).

LaVette performed a memorable concert at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield last year.

Tickets for Bettye LaVette’s performance at MASS MoCA are $55 for priority seating, $32 for general admission in advance, and $39 for general admission on the day of the performance.  Museum members receive a 10% discount.  Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located on Marshall Street in North Adams.  Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 x1 during Box Office hours, or purchased online at MASS MoCA.  MASS MoCA’s galleries will be open until 7pm before the show.