Grammy Winner Ruthie Foster Brings a Hard Won New Chapter to The Vogel

A sticky note that just said “just say yes” carried this blues legend through three decades of setbacks and finally, last year, straight to her first Grammy win.

Some Grammy wins feel inevitable. Ruthie Foster’s felt earned the hard way, decades in the making, and on Thursday, October 8, that hard won victory lap continues at The Vogel with material from her newest record, Just Say Yes.

Last year, Foster finally took home her first Grammy, winning Best Contemporary Blues Album for Mileage, an award that had been a long time coming for an artist who’s spent more than three decades hustling to make a life in music possible. Her path there was anything but a straight line. Foster was first signed to a major label after completing her tour of duty in the US Navy, only to walk away from music entirely in 1993 to care for her mother, who had fallen seriously ill. It was only after her mother’s death that Foster found her way back, this time choosing to build her career independently rather than chasing major label backing again.

A Sticky Note That Changed Everything

The turning point, by Foster’s own account, came down to something almost absurdly small. “I wrote this thing on a sticky note and it just said ‘Just say yes,'” she recalls. That note-to-self became something close to a personal mantra, carrying her back into music as she rebuilt her career from the ground up. Decades later, it’s become the literal title of her newest album, released August 28 through Sun Records, a direct acknowledgment of the small piece of paper that helped launch everything that came after it.

Reuniting a Winning Team

For Just Say Yes, Foster reunited with her Mileage collaborators Tyler Bryant and Rebecca Lovell of Larkin Poe, working out of Bryant’s new Nashville studio, with Larkin Poe collaborator Megan Lovell and her husband Mike Seal joining the sessions as well. Bringing back the same creative team that helped produce her Grammy winning record speaks to how much trust Foster has built with these collaborators, and the results reflect that same chemistry that made Mileage such a standout in the first place.

Why This Show Carries Real Weight

Foster’s catalog has long drawn comparisons to Bonnie Raitt and Aretha Franklin, blending gospel, blues, jazz, folk, and soul into a sound that never sits still inside one genre. Longtime fans consistently describe her live shows as deeply personal, built as much around her between song stories as the music itself. For anyone catching this show, that combination, a Grammy winning artist performing brand new material born from a genuinely hard fought comeback, makes for the kind of evening that carries real emotional weight beyond just the songs themselves.

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Explore New Jersey covers the state’s live blues and roots music scene, from Grammy winning legends to the touring artists bringing genuine soul within easy reach. Check back for more concert coverage all season long.