Mavis Staples will perform a free concert in Central Park with Toshi Reagon & BIGLovely on June 3
Who: Mavis Staples, Toshi Reagon & BIGLovely
What: Free SummerStage concert
Where: Rumsey Playfield, Central Park, 72nd St. & Fifth Ave.
When: Saturday, June 3, free, doors at 6:00, show at 7:00
Why: Chicago-born legend Mavis Staples has become somewhat of a, well, summer staple in New York City. This year the seventy-seven-year-old R&B singer will headline a free show in Rumsey Playfield on June 3, highlighting her remarkable history as a member of the Staples Singers and as a solo artist, including songs from her most recent album, last year’s Livin’ on a High Note. Her sets regularly feature such classic songs as “I’ll Take You There,” “Let’s Get Together,” and “Freedom Highway” as well as such covers as “The Weight,” “Slippery People,” and “For What It’s Worth,” charming audiences with her golden voice and fab stories. Opening up will be the amazing Toshi Reagon & BIGLovely; Reagon is “a one-woman celebration of all that’s dynamic, progressive, and uplifting in American music”; now entering its third decade, BIGLovely consists of Judith Casselberry, Ganessa James, Juliette Jones, Stephanie McKay, Josette Newsam Marchak, Allison Miller, and Alex Nolan.