Janiva Magness Blues on the Coast

Award-winning blues and soul singer Janiva Magness will perform at Arena Theater’s Blues on the Coast series on Saturday, March 18, at 8:30 p.m., doors open at 8 p.m.

A Detroit native, Magness grew up on the city’s classic Motown sound and her influences include Etta James, Billie Holiday, Elmore James, Robert Johnson, Aretha Franklin, Jackie Wilson, Memphis Minnie and Koko Taylor.

Performing for almost four decades, logging thousands of miles on the road and appearing 150 nights a year at clubs, theatres and festivals all over the world Magness has forged a career that’s seen her rise steadily to the top in the world of blues. She has been nominated for 25 Blues Music Awards and follows the legendary Koko Taylor as the second woman to win the highly coveted B.B. King Entertainer of the Year award.

USA Today declared, “Magness is a blues star,” and The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, “Magness sings superb, potent soul-blues with a scorching intensity.” Pairing with Blue Élan Records, she delivered “Love Wins Again,” a soulful meditation on the power of love, in early 2016, Grammy nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album 2017. Fellow blues musician Charlie Musselwhite said, “Janiva Magness always knocks me out because she has such style and poise on stage and she hits every note she sings just right – perfect every time.”

Tickets are $20, available at Arena Theater’s ticket outlets: The Sea Trader and Four-Eyed Frog Books in Gualala; Arena Market and The Pier Chowder House and Tap Room in Point Arena; Twist in Mendocino; online at www.arenatheater.org. The Arena Theater bar and snack stand will be open.