Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue + Mavis Staples

It was after midnight when Trombone Shorty stepped offstage at the House of Blues in New Orleans, but he wasn’t done playing yet. Listen to Lifted, Trombone Shorty’s second Blue Note Records release, to hear that same ecstatic energy coursing through the entire collection. The album finds the Grammy-nominated NOLA icon and his bandmates tapping into the raw power and exhilarating grooves of their legendary live show, channeling it all into a series of tight, explosive performances that blur the lines between funk, soul, R&B, and psychedelic rock. The writing is bold and self-assured, standing up to hard times and loss with grit and determination. The playing is muscular to match, mixing pop gleam with hip-hop swagger and second line abandon. Shorty celebrates the good times on the album too, reveling in the joy of love and friendship and family throughout. Wild as all that may sound, Lifted is still the work of a master craftsman: The album’s nimble arrangements and judicious use of special guests—from Gary Clark Jr. and Lauren Daigle to the rhythm section from Shorty’s high school marching band—ultimately yields a collection as refined as it is rapturous; one that balances technical virtuosity and emotional release in equal measure as it celebrates music’s primal power to bring us all together. For Trombone Shorty, the show never ends. Not by a long shot.

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The rain came down in heavy sheets as Mavis Staples, hailed by NPR as “one of America’s defining voices of freedom and peace,” arrived in Woodstock. Still recovering from knee surgery, she wasn’t her usual spry self, yet aches and pains melted away when she spotted the familiar figure waiting to greet her. Lean and wiry, his gentle warmth radiating Southern charm and hospitality, there was no mistaking Levon Helm. Quick as a flash, she was out of the car, through the rain, up the steps. As the pair embraced in the deep, spiritual way of kindred souls, Mavis Staples and Levon Helm did what came most naturally: They sang. Staples was there to perform for Helm’s Midnight Ramble series. The ensuing 2011 concert—available today on the rousing new release Carry Me Home—is a personal high watermark for both artists. The righteous setlist mixed vintage gospel and soul with timeless folk and blues. An ecstatic atmosphere equal parts family reunion and tent revival fueled the performances. As their last performance together, it takes on a bittersweet meaning time capsule and memorial; blissful homecoming and fond farewell; a once-in-a-lifetime concert, and friendship, preserved for the ages. Staples—a chart-topping soul, gospel, and R&B pioneer, and civil rights icon—graces us as a once-in-a-generation artist whose impact on music and culture is difficult to overstate.