Marie Knight
A fine gospel singer, with a ringing, signifying voice, Marie Knight first attracted attention while singing in the choir at the Oakwood Avenue Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. Her fame spread further than that of her kindred spirits' owing to some excellent duet recordings she performed with Sister Rosetta Tharpe, notably ecstatic versions of "Up Above My Head" and "Didn't It Rain". The duo played to rapturous audiences all over the country, on one occasion pulling 27,000 people into Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC. While it might well be that Tharpe was the big attraction, Knight was also popular and the pair undoubtedly benefited from the collaboration. There isn't a single vocalist worldwide better able to evoke the spirit of Sister Rosetta Tharpe than her famed singing and songwriting partner, the one and only Marie Knight.

The Holmes Brothers
Ever since they first joined forces and started performing together in 1979, The Holmes Brothers (bassist Sherman Holmes, guitarist/keyboardist Wendell Holmes and drummer Popsy Dixon) have been brining their brand of gospel-inflected, spiritually moving and funky music to audiences all over the world. The Holmes Brothers covered Rosetta Tharpe's "Up Above My Head" on their very first CD, and on this tribute show they serve as Marie Knight's backing band, as well as performing their own stirring set.
The New York Times says The Holmes Brothers' sound is "deeply soulful, uplifting and timeless." The Chicago Tribune refers to the trio as "the undisputed masters of blues-based American roots music." OffBeat declares that the group possesses "great spirit and outstanding vocal harmonies with a jam band aesthetic that anticipated the 'sacred steel' movement by a decade."

Odetta
Odetta is one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century. Before Odetta, no solo woman performer (let alone an African American woman!) had toured the world singing folk, blues, Negro spirituals, jazz, work and protest songs, while telling the stories of America's Southern experience. Her 1950's and 60's classic recordings of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," "Kumbaya," "Goodnight Irene," "Amazing Grace" and "This Little Light of Mine" became folk and spiritual classics throughout the world and inspired an entire generation.