Bettye LaVette sings soul at the Tower

Published 12:00 am Thursday, September 26, 2019

The modern neo-soul revival has not just given a voice to a new generation of singers, but a second chance to stalwart performers who should have been immortalized back in the genre’s birth years. Bettye LaVette is one of those singers, and unlike other modern breakouts such as Charles Bradley or Sharon Jones, LaVette truly was there in the beginning, scoring a top 10 R&B hit with her first single, “My Man — He’s a Lovin’ Man,” recorded in 1962 when she was 16. Many ups and downs followed, including stints with Atlantic Records (her 1972 album, “Child of the Seventies,” was shelved at the last minute, finally seeing official release in 2006), Epic and Motown, and almost four years with the touring company of the Broadway musical “Bubbling Brown Sugar,” according to her online biography.

Her modern career renaissance began with the 2003 album “A Woman Like Me” and continued with a series of albums on ANTI-Records, cementing her reputation as a fierce song interpreter who has embodied lyrics from The Beatles, The Who, Dolly Parton, Fiona Apple and more. That continues on her 2018 disc, “Things Have Changed,” which finds LaVette tackling deep cuts from Bob Dylan.

LaVette will play an intimate show with pianist Evan Mercer at the Tower Theatre on Tuesday.

Bettye LaVette: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday; $42, $32 or $22 plus theater preservation fee; Tower Theatre, 835 NW Wall St., Bend; towertheatre.org or 541-317-0700.