Lauded as one of the best remaining soul vocalists of her generation, Bettye found her calling at the age of 16 growing up in Detroit, soon signing with Atlantic Records. Over her seven-plus-decade career, she has released 12 albums and toured with the likes of The Rolling Stone, James Brown, Otis Redding, and more.

Since her resurgence in 2000, LaVette has been nominated for 7 Grammy Awards, won multiple Blues Music Awards, was inducted into The Blues Hall of Fame & The R&B Hall Of Fame, and received the R&B Foundation’s Pioneer Award as well as the Americana Music Association’s Legacy Award.

Her latest album, the self-titled LaVette! was produced by Steve Jordan (The Rolling Stones, John Mayer Trio), and featured contributions from Jon Batiste, Steve Winwood, and Anthony Hamilton. According to Steve Jordan, who produced her last three albums: “When Bettye gets a hold of a song, it becomes her song. It’s like she wrote it. Bettye LaVette is like a combination of Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Miles Davis.”

At 80 years old, LaVette is a shining example of what perseverance and determination can bring. One of her many gifts lies in her ability to strip every song down to its emotional core, reshaping familiar material with the raw honesty and fearless artistry that have defined her since her very first Billboard charting recording in 1962.

Over the past year, Passim has developed a partnership with Arrow Street Arts, bringing together two of Cambridge’s premier independent arts organizations. This new venture connects Club Passim, the legendary Harvard Square listening room, with Arrow Street Arts, a new state-of-the-art venue for a series of highly curated concerts with the goal of bringing amazing music to an even wider audience. Other artists presented this year have included Jonatha Brooke, Mark Erelli with Liv Green, Mary Gauthier with Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light, and more.