The Presidential Lecture and Performance Series is kicking off the spring semester with a special performance by Ruthie Foster. Learn more on this episode of The Front Row with Jo Moore.
For those of us who don’t know, who is Ruthie Foster?
Ruthie Foster is a singer from Austin. Of course, as you know we’ve had two singers this season from Austin. We had Gina Chavez, a Latin singer, and then this Friday night, Feb. 22, we’re hosting Ruthie Foster. She has won multiple blues awards. She’s a three-time Grammy nominee—for a blues album that’s been nominated three times—seven blues music awards, three Austin music awards. She’s won an award in France for her blue music and she’s just extraordinary.
How do you find talent like this?
Arts presenters of which the Presidential Lecture and Performance Series, we’re an arts presenter, so any performing arts center, anybody who presents music has the benefit of regional conferences and national conferences. We go to New York. Texas is part of the midwest conference, which is a little odd, but we could have our own we’re so large, and we have a strong block of arts presenters from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, that’s called the southwest arts presenters.
So you meet with agents at these regional conferences and you find out what’s touring. The agents will talk to you about particular programs or shows that they have. And as you know, our series is very eclectic, so often times I’m able to listen to showcases, and that’s a way when you go to these conferences or go to New York the agents will put on showcases, of which you could listen to hundreds of them over the course of a week if you had enough time to do that.
But a particular agent that I work with a lot represented Ruthie Foster and I was intrigued by her music and Lloyd Maines had worked with Ruthie quite a bit. When he found out I was interested in bringing her he gave his stamp of approval, which was all I needed.
Listen to the full interview at the top of the article.