Listen up: Better Late Than Never

WHY AT 62, DETROIT-BORN SOUL SINGER BETTYE LAVETTE IS JUST GETTING STARTED

In 1972, Bettye LaVette was home in Detroit, packed and ready to tour for her justcompleted record with Atlantic.

LaVette had an R&B hit single (My Man – He’s a Lovin’ Man) at 16, but this was her first album and a new beginning. Then the phone rang.

“They said, ‘Would you please send the plane tickets back? We’ve decided not to go forward with the project,’ ” says LaVette, now a resident of West Orange, New Jersey. “Those are the exact words they said.”

The album, Child of the Seventies, was shelved, the tour canceled. LaVette was devastated.

Over the next three decades, the raspy-voiced soul singer sang where she could, but it was tough. LaVette says she “gave up, gave out, but never gave in.” She relied on a group of supportive friends who did everything from giving pep talks to picking up checks. She also learned a lot about having to win an audience and entertaining.

When her next big break hit 28 years later, LaVette was ready. A French music collector discovered her shelved album and released it in 2000, renaming it Souvenirs. Two new CDs quickly followed, and the bookings and awards started rolling in.

Now 62, the energetic performer is known for her heartbreakingly raw blues interpretations of songs from all genres. She’s on a world tour for her latest CD, Scene of the Crime, which earned LaVette her first Grammy nomination.

“I begged and told people, ‘Listen, listen, listen!’ for so long,” LaVette says. “I guess I feel more vindicated than anything else.”

Before her world tour resumes in Spain, LaVette will perform July 4 at the Rothbury Music Festival in Rothbury, Mich. The eco-friendly event will feature appearances by Dave Matthews Band, Snoop Dog,Modest Mouse and John Mayer, among other performers. With more than three decades of experience, LaVette knows a great entertainer appeals to all ages.

“When I’m standing onstage and looking at faces my age and faces my granddaughter’s age all looking up cheering and applauding, I find that an honor,” she says.

Favorite Singers

“My favorites would be Johnny Hartman, Ray Charles and Marvin Gaye – mostly men. The first women I heard that weren’t singing soft and sweet were LaVern Baker and Ruth Brown. They taught me women whose voices weren’t smooth and pretty could be singers.”

On touring at 62

Entourage? “My entourage can only go and hang with me for 48 hours because they have to go home and take care of their lawns and their children in college or get more oxygen put in their breathing machines!”

Energy? “I used to get my energy from being young, now I get it from resting.”

Socializing on the road? “People are like, ‘Pleeease come down and have a drink with me! Pleeease come out of your room!’ ”

The Rothbury Music Festival

July 3-6 Thursday-Sunday
Double JJ Ranch, 5900 S. Water Rd, New Era, Mich. www.rothburyfestival.com

If you haven’t heard of the Rothbury Festival, make your plans. Billed as “a party with a purpose,” festivalgoers can camp and see a one-of-a-kind lineup with 70 musical acts at this inaugural event. Where else can you see Snoop Dogg, Modest Mouse, John Mayer and Primus? But attendees also are expected to have a green weekend, with opportunities to join environmental think-tank discussions, and learn about sustainable energy and products. Attendees may enjoy vegan and vegetarian food vendors, and bring an RV or stay in a cozy log cabin with pools and entertainment. Organizers say that by choosing clean energy and using active recycling and composting measures, they aim to create a near-zero waste event.