On the far celestial shore of Ocean City, NJ this Monday, August 25, 2025 evening, music lovers ready themselves inside the historic Ocean City Music Pier for a concert of R&B, soul, and gospel music by singer Mavis Staples.
Mavis Staples rose to fame as a member of her family’s band, The Staple Singers. Inspired by the close friendship between Mavis’ father, “Pops” Staples, and Martin Luther King, Jr., the Staple Singers became one of the main musical voices of the civil rights movement. Signing to Stax Records in 1968, the group’s harmonies were accompanied by members of Booker T. and the M.G.s, helping Mavis and The Staple Singers to hit the Top 40 eight times with two #1 singles: “I’ll Take You There” and “Let’s Do It Again.”
Over the course of her career, Staples has recorded with a wide variety of musicians including Bob Dylan, The Band, and Ray Charles. She’s appeared on multiple television shows and in films including The Last Waltz, and was also the subject of the Peabody-winning 2015 documentary, Mavis! Her performances at 1969’s Harlem Cultural Festival were featured in Questlove’s 2022 Academy Award-winning music documentary, Summer of Soul.
Inside the Ocean City Music Pier auditorium, opening artist Jeffrey Gaines takes the stage and strums his guitar as he sings in his deep, full voice, “What’s this world coming to/It’s breaking my heart,” on his soulful folk tune, “Falling Apart.”
Following the ballad, “Beyond the Beginning,” and the funky “Over and Over,” Gaines reveals, “I got a message today where somebody said, ‘Sorry you have to work on your birthday,’ and I thought, ‘That’s a lovely sentiment had I been working in a coal mine, but I get to play guitar for a living so I can’t imagine any other celebration than being here tonight!”
The crowd cheers and Gaines soars into his rhythmic R&B tune, “To Be Free,” before enlightening the crowd on the reality of living with a disability on the folky “I Know a Man.” Impressing with his vocal and songwriting skills, Gaines cries, “I could fly or I could fall/But to never have tried at all/Scares me more than anything in the world,” on his gentle rocker, “Scares Me More.”
Gaines switches between fingerpicking and strumming his guitar on the soulful shuffle, “Hero in Me,” prior to performing a mash-up of Fleetwood Mac’s “Over My Head” and his original folk song, “Always Be.”
Revealing that he grew up in Harrisburg, PA where his mom played Mavis Staples records, Gaines suggests, “It’s significant that she and I are on the same bill in this lifetime,” before launching into his rhythmic folk rocker, “Feel Alright,” and ending his set with a soulful rendition of the Sam Cooke ballad, “A Change Is Gonna Come.”
Music lovers react with a standing ovation and Gaines responds, “You’ve been beautiful — thank you and enjoy the rest of the evening!” at which point concertgoers surprise Gaines by spontaneously singing to him, “Happy birthday, dear Jeffrey/Happy birthday to you!”
Following a short intermission, guitarist Rick Holmstrom, bassist Greg Boaz, and drummer Steve Mugalian take the stage along with singers Saundra Williams and Kelly Hogan, and music lovers cheer as Mavis Staples, 86, makes her entrance. Accompanied by her talented ensemble, Staples glides into the funky R&B tune, “City in the Sky,” where she sings in her patented soulful voice, “There’s too many people/Tellin’ too many lies/I’m gonna have to build them/A city in the sky.”
Moving onto “I’m Just Another Soldier,” concertgoers applaud as Staples cries, “I believe if we all get together right now/Hatred would cease to be,” on this 12/8 march-like tune.
“We got to come together, y’all!” exclaims Staples before asking, “You feel alright?” and she and the band drift into the upbeat gospel tune, “Handwriting on the Wall,” where Staples shouts, “Yeah!” as Rick Holstrom renders a bluesy guitar solo.
Staples confesses, “This is the most beautiful, beautiful place I have seen, ever!” noting, “We’ve come this evening to bring you some joy, some happiness, some inspiration, and some positive vibrations,” before insisting, “We have a love train, but if you want to ride you have to get on board!”
Here, she and the band rumble into the soulful swamp-rocker, “Who Told You That,” where bassist Greg Boaz and drummer Steve Mugalian percolate while guitarist Holmstrom solos prior to segueing directly into the bluesy rocker, “Can You Get to That,” which features backup singers Saundra Williams and Kelly Hogan alternating lead vocals with Staples.
A highlight of tonight’s show is Staples’ R&B rendition of “Wade in the Water” where music lovers clap along to the funky beat as Staples cries out with soul, “God’s gonna trouble the water!” on this well-known spiritual.
An audience member shouts out, “We love you, Mavis!” and Staples replies, “I love you more!” as she and the band ease into the slow and bluesy gospel tune with a country feel, “You Are Not Alone,” where Staples sings with her arms outstretched, “You’re not alone/I’m with you/I’m lonely too.”
Concertgoers avidly applaud and Holstrom reveals, “We got a good one, here!” as he plays the guitar intro to The Band’s “The Weight.” On this funky arrangement, Staples, Williams, Hogan, and Holmstrom each take turns singing lead and audience members dance and sing along on the song’s “Take a load off, Fanny/Take a load for free” refrain before Mavis cries out with soul, “Put the load right on me!”
The crowd stands and cheers and Staples and Co. launch into The Staple Singers’ 1971 hit, “Respect Yourself,” where Holmstrom and Staples trade off singing lead before everyone joins in singing on the soul number’s “Respect yourself (Da da da da-da)/Respect yourself (Dee dee dee-dee)” refrain.
On the easy gospel rocker, “Far Celestial Shore,” Mavis sings, “There’s a land of plenty where no child shall want for more,” and her backup singers echo, “On a far celestial shore.” Then, Williams, Holmstrom, and Hogan alternate singing lead on the rhythmic rocker, “Heavy Makes You Happy” where everyone joins in on the tune’s catchy “Sha-na boom boom, yeah” refrain.
To conclude tonight’s show, Staples and the ensemble perform the easy rocker, “Everybody Needs Love,” where Mavis sings, “Everybody needs love, love, love,” and shakes hands and blows kisses to concertgoers who happily clap and sing, “Love, love, love,” as they cheer for Staples who waves goodnight before exiting the stage.
For more info on Mavis Staples, please go to mavisstaples.com. To learn more about Jeffrey Gaines, navigate to jeffreygaines.com. For information on great future concerts at Ocean City Music Pier, please go to ocnj.us.
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