Bettye LaVette received the Legacy of Americana Award from her producer Steve Jordan and the National Museum of African American Music’s Noelle Taylor. Before taking the stage for a fiery performance, she thanked mentors and audiences, joked about her memory as she read her comments from the back of a receipt, and then said what everyone was thinking: After 62 years in the music business, during most of which she received tepid support, “Whatever you give me, I deserve.”

–No Depression, Sept 2023