Ruthie Foster

Ruthie Foster is a rising star in the musical universe of the blues. Her latest album, Let It Burn, earned a Grammy nomination for Best Blues Album in 2012, and her previous album, The Truth According to Ruthie Foster, earned a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2010. She won the Koko Taylor Award for Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year last year, and she’s nominated again this year. So, yes, she’s a blues powerhouse, but her music really goes beyond the blues to embrace gospel and soul, rock and folk. A recent cover story in Keyboard Player Magazine calls her “a singer from the old school, whose huge, full-bodied voice has drawn frequent comparisons with such legends as Aretha Franklin and Ella Fitzgerald.” In the words of the Austin Chronicle, her “deeply soulful vocals dip into gospel and swing toward contemporary folk with R&B panache. When she sings a capella, the heavens part.”