Mavis Staples is coming to the Newberry Opera House in April

The gospel-soul legend, still touring behind last year's 'Sad and Beautiful World,' plays a 426-seat room on Thursday, April 15.

There are not many chances left to hear a voice that has been part of American music this long in a room this small. On Thursday, April 15, 2027, Mavis Staples plays the Newberry Opera House, and the room holds just 426 people.

The date was announced Nov. 3. The show starts at 7 p.m., and tickets are sold directly through the Opera House's own box office at newberryoperahouse.com rather than a national ticketer, so that is where to go and that is where to check pricing. For Columbia readers, it's a drive up I-26 worth planning a whole evening around.

Staples needs little introduction, but the recent chapter matters. In November 2025 she released Sad and Beautiful World, her first solo album since 2019's We Get By, with guests including Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt and Jeff Tweedy. The record sent her back out on the road, and the 2026 calendar read like a tour of the country's great rooms: the Chicago Theatre in her hometown in January, Nashville's Ryman Auditorium later that month, New York's Beacon Theatre in February, and a stop at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in May. When she played the Beacon, Norah Jones joined her on "You Are Not Alone," and that same season she brought "Human Mind" to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

The 2026 calendar read like a tour of the country's great rooms. Newberry's is a good deal more intimate.

Newberry's is a good deal more intimate than any of those. That's the point. A seated historic hall with a few hundred people in it is the kind of setting where the details come through: the grain in the voice, the space she leaves between lines, the way a band behind a singer like this knows to stay out of the way. The genre tags on this show are R&B and soul, rock and folk, and that spread is honest. Her catalog runs from the Staple Singers' gospel and civil-rights songs through decades of solo records that pulled in rock and Americana collaborators without ever losing the church at the center.

The practical advice is simple. Rooms this size with a name this big do not stay available for long, and the Opera House sells its own tickets, so bookmark the box-office page and check it rather than waiting for a reminder. If you're coming up from Columbia, build in time for dinner in downtown Newberry, which is right outside the door.

Then take your seat early. Some voices you want to hear from the first note.

Sources: Mavis Staples Announces New Album 'Sad And Beautiful World' Out November 7th - Glide Magazine (glidemagazine.com); Mavis Staples releasing new album Sad and Beautiful World featuring Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Jeff Tweedy - American Songwriter (americansongwriter.com); Mavis Staples expands tour dates to 2026 - Pollstar (news.pollstar.com); Watch Norah Jones join Mavis Staples on "You Are Not Alone" in NYC - BrooklynVegan (brooklynvegan.com); Live Footage: Mavis Staples Performs "Human Mind" on The Late Show (joyofviolentmovement.com); Newberry Opera House (newberryoperahouse.com); JamBase listing (jambase.com)