Folk music is just about telling a story in song and is often at the very core of a culture and its ability to tell a story. Ruthie Foster, a soulful, stunning folk guitarist and vocalist, comes to N.C. State’s Stewart Theater this Friday at 8 p.m. Her mesmerizing and captivating melodies are just waiting to escape the guitar case.
“I never really thought about it being folk music until someone actually kind of mentioned to me if I wanted to perform at a folk festival years later,” said Foster. “It just tells a story. I’ve always loved that about folk music in particular. Its been used for telling stories and its been used politically too, in ways that get people to see a thing in a different way, to unite people.”
She talked about the folk greats that came before her, the Josh Whites, the Sam Cookes, the Aretha Franklins and the Bob Dylans. Even looking at her last album, The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster, I see songs by Son House, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Maya Angelou. Foster has become one of those greats in her own time, tapping into a lot of the rebellious yet spiritual and gospel sensibilities of the genre.
Foster said she has many different influences for her music, including different artists and genres of music.
“It’s a sign that folk music, like any genre, grows and expands,” Foster said. “There’s always someone with a new turn and helping people open up to it. I consider people like Amos Lee more of a soul folk singer because I feel, here’s a person who obviously grew up with a true sense of love for music and he had his own twist that worked for him. Music, like a lot of things, grows as new people grow into focus, and there’s always someone else and the music just moves.”
Speaking of moving, Foster made a brief mention of her time in the Navy and how it was that it is a rather unique place to come at music from.
“I was in the Navy, joined right after college,” Foster said. “I graduated college and decided that I would get myself out of Texas and get myself out of the usual. I wanted to get out of music for a little bit. I had just gotten a music degree and was a little burned out on being in that world. I joined about ’86, got stationed in a helicopter squadron in San Diego and worked in those for about year. I was just supply and… I just wanted to see if I could even hold a conversation that didn’t involve talking about music.”
Her executive officer found out she could sing and convinced her to go back into music. She joined a front and a big band after her officer arranged an audition for her in San Diego. The rest is history, but it’s only the beginning of her history, her story.
And considering her background in gospel, faith is a big part of that story.
“[My] mother, her faith was solid,” Foster said. “She had it even when I didn’t feel it. I was so excited about learning all these things about music…[but] remember you’ve got a soul to save, it’s yours and you start there. I don’t consider myself… I don’t go there too often with religion but with spirituality. I consider myself a very spiritual person and stay in touch with who I know I am and what I’ve got to give.”
Her next album, The Truth According to Ruthie Foster, hits early next year and includes more of her powerful vocals and lyrics. It even has a Pink Floyd cover.
Foster is truly a musician to experience, especially considering the $5 student ticket price and the opportunity to hear a modern master engage in one of the oldest kinds of music. Because, after all, we’re all just folk.
