Ruthie Foster was at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport last February during the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. She couldn’t make the ceremonial gala as she was returning from the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise in the Caribbean. Besides, she had been nominated five times before, and she was sure her friend Shamekia Copeland would win the award for Best Contemporary Blues Album this year — or maybe Joe Bonamassa.
So instead of walking the red carpet, she sat at the bar at Bam Bam on the C Concourse watching on TV. She saw Taj Mahal, who had left the cruise early, accept the award for Best Traditional Blues Album. Then seven-time Grammy nominated Anoushka Shankar, the first Indian musician to perform or present at the Grammys, took the dais to announce the Best Contemporary Blues Album category. The winner: Ruthie Foster for Mileage.
“She said my name beautifully. I loved hearing my name in her accent,” Foster says. “I was in shock. It was my tour manager who jumped up and screamed, ‘Holy shit! You just won a Grammy!’
“The bar exploded. They were like, ‘What? Oh, wow!’ The whole gate at C4 was high-fiving. It was really cool,” Foster continues. “I just sat there with my eyes wide open going, Did that just happen?! That just happened.”
Foster is no newcomer to the music scene, but the Grammy win launched a new wave of attention and global touring, playing the likes of Mumbai, Australia and Abu Dhabi, the latter at the invitation of Herbie Hancock as part of the International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert. And she is still keeping a busy domestic touring schedule that will bring her to Colorado Springs to headline Blues on the Mesa on Sept. 27.
Blues on the Mesa will be Ruthie Foster’s first appearance in the Springs since 2007 when she played at the Thirsty Parrot downtown. Amy Whitesell, organizer of Blues on the Mesa, still has the concert poster from that show on her ceiling.
“I’m super excited about having Ruthie Foster as the headliner,” Whitesell says. “She’s unique. She’s kind of bluesy. She’s kind of gospel-y. She can be a little jazzy when she wants to be. She offers a lot, in my opinion.”
The outdoor show on the grassy lawn at Gold Hill Mesa will be a treat for music lovers to get to hear Foster’s blend of blues, folk and gospel.
“I called it gospel-infused folk for a while, and some people call me a blues singer,” Foster says when asked how she likes to describes her music. “I don’t know what I’d call it other than just music that moves your spirit, because these days I sing more about my own experiences and it tends to lock into what other people are experiencing or have experienced in their life. And I’m real proud of the journey I’ve taken and the path that has led me here, for sure.”
A Lifelong Musical Journey
Foster’s musical journey began as a young girl who shied away from the spotlight, preferring to play guitar in her bedroom. But with encouragement from her mother and grandmother, Foster began performing with local gospel choirs and musicians around her home in south central Texas on the Brazos River. She pursued music in school, spending three years in a commercial music program at McLennan Community College. But feeling burned out, she decided to take a break from music.
The U.S. Navy gave Foster the chance to escape small town life and experience something different. She said nothing about being a musician and was stationed in San Diego, working on helicopters, serving as the aviation storekeeper and doing whatever was needed to support her helicopter squadron.
“That’s where I learned a lot about rock, because I had the night shift,” Foster says. “It was just me and all the fellas, and they liked to listen to their Deep Purple and Black Sabbath and just rock the hanger out. I got my rock degree from my fellow sailors.”
After about a year, Foster missed music in her life and began playing for friends on the weekends. She happened to play at her Company Commander’s Christmas party, and after a version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Red House,” the commander wanted a word.
“He caught me by the punch bowl and says, ‘Why are you here? Why aren’t you in the band?’ And that started the whole thing.” Foster says. “He insisted that I audition for the Navy Band, and I was ready at that point.”
She, of course, made the band and was assigned to Charleston, South Carolina. “I was a big band singer, and I loved it — absolutely loved it,” Foster says. “We traveled, and it taught me how to tour. I toured with seven guys in a van, pulling a trailer.”
Wherever the Admiral went, the band went, including some farther flung places, including Iceland, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
Eventually Foster auditioned for and was invited to join the U.S. Navy Band Commodores, its most elite musical group based in Washington, D.C. But she turned down the offer rather than extend her commitment to the Navy. It still served as the confidence boost she needed to pursue a professional music career on her own terms.
Foster began playing in clubs around Charleston, and not long after, an Atlantic Records executive heard her playing as he passed through town. “It all just exploded from there,” Foster says.
Foster signed a development contract with Atlantic Records and moved to New York City where she wrote songs, rubbed shoulders with legendary and up-and-coming artists, and learned about the music business.
It was exciting for several years, but Foster began feeling the pull back home to Texas and to see her mother who was ill. She took a day job working in broadcast production and cared for her mother. The time deepened their bond and shaped Foster’s music as she learned how to write from her own deeper experiences.
Marking the Mileage
There is much of Foster’s relationship and journey woven throughout her music, and it was during that period that she independently recorded her first album, Full Circle, in 1997. The album sold well, and she signed a contract with Blue Corn Records, an independent label in Houston.
Foster’s first Grammy nomination came in 2009 for The Truth According To Ruthie Foster. From then, her albums became regular nominees for the Grammy’s Best Contemporary Blues Album. Running through all of Foster’s music are strains of weathered hope and hard-earned authenticity. Her career has included ongoing tours, performances and collaborations with luminaries, including the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Allman Brothers Band, Warren Haynes, the Tedeschi Trucks Band and more.
In 2024 Foster released her 13th album, Mileage, with the iconic Memphis-based Sun Records. It’s fitting that it was the album to finally land that Grammy as it’s the culmination of much of Foster’s uniquely varied life and career.
“I think the little girl in me was just proud, and I just wish my mom was still here — but I know she’s here because she’s all over my music and interwoven into every album I do,” Foster says. “[Winning the Grammy] was incredibly validating for all of the hard work and all of the years of lugging suitcases up and down stairs and blowing a meniscus, all of these things that you go through as a working musician. It felt like it paid off. It’s a beautiful feeling to be recognized in this way. Some days I wake up and I still don’t believe it.”
Blues on the Mesa 2025
The fifth annual Blues on the Mesa happens this year on Sept. 27 at the Gold Hill Mesa Community Center lawn from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The VIP After-Party continues from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Bring your blanket or outdoor chairs to the lush, grassy hillside for a day of excellent music and festive, neighborhood vibes. Each year, Blues on the Mesa stands out for its ability to draw exceptional and unique artists.
“I like to mix it up as far as instrumentation, as far as male, female, everything. just so we’re not seeing the same thing,” says Amy Whitesell, co-owner of A Music Company Inc. which organizes Blues on the Mesa. “We only get five acts, so let’s make them all a little different and grab everyone’s attention.”
This year is no different with Ruthie Foster headlining and a talented lineup top to bottom. Here’s a preview of the additional lineup.
Mike Zito
Mike Zito is one of the most lauded artists in the contemporary blues arena today, known for his honesty, authenticity and integrity. “Mike has a record label of his own now, Gulf Coast Records,” Whitesell says. “He is touring with labelmate Albert Castiglia on their Blood Brothers tour, and they are also touring as Bill Murray and his Blood Brothers. So Mike has come a long way, and he’s getting his name out there.”
Eden Brent
Hailing from the heart of the Mississippi Delta in Greenville, Mississippi, Eden Brent is a piano-pounding, juke-joint hollering powerhouse. “She’s a honky-tonk piano player, and she’s a very pretty honky-tonk piano player,” Whitesell says. “She’s very dynamic, and she will get everyone’s attention with her voice, her playing and her actions.”
Jack Hadley with Peaches Embry
Whitesell often likes to inject creativity into her Blues on the Mesa lineups by pairing artists for special performances. This won’t be the first time that the Boulder-based Jack Hadley and Fort Collins-based Peaches Embry have played together, but it will be a memorable combo. Embry played as part of Lady Sings the Blues at the inaugural Blues on the Mesa in 2021.
Grant Sabin
Grant Sabin got his start in Colorado Springs before basing himself in Fort Collins. He will open Blues on the Mesa with his unique musical style built on Delta blues and characterized by biting slide guitar, soulful growl and heartfelt lyrics.
Along with the music, Blues on the Mesa will offer a full array of breweries, distillers, food trucks and vendors. If you’re looking for something special to eat or drink — alcoholic or nonalcoholic — you’ll most likely find it.
The VIP Party following the festival includes food, drinks, swag, more live music and a chance to meet and mingle with artists. The extended festivities take place in the Gold Hill Mesa Community Center immediately following Blues on the Mesa. The limited number of VIP tickets are expected to sell out.
Tickets for regular Blues on the Mesa won’t sell out thanks to its large outdoor capacity. But discounted early bird pricing will end on Sept. 25. Bonus: Kids and teens 16 and younger receive free admission with the purchase of an adult ticket.
Find all the details and get tickets at bluesonthemesa.org.
