Ruthie Foster at The Tin Pan

Ruthie Foster
The Tin Pan
Richmond, VA
October 20, 2026

It's usually a bad thing when people are talking during a live show. However, if it's blues singer and guitarist Ruthie Foster, that's just fine. Her solo set at the Tin Pan in Richmond, Virginia, was a memorable night of songs and stories.

Switching between older material, covers, as well as tracks from her recent release, Just Say Yes (Sun Records, 2026), Foster showed why she is a blues powerhouse. If anything, she didn't need a microphone; her vocals could make the rafters rattle and shake. In between many of the tunes, the singer made jokes (which were actually quite funny) and told stories about how she played in New York City and played Tracy Chapman covers to attract people to the club she was at.

Though she usually plays with a band, Foster can hold her own with just her guitar and voice. Solo material can have the pitfall of seeming shallow at times. Foster, though, made the music vibrant and let it vibrate through the space. Her new release includes other musicians, and it is interesting to compare the minimalist version to the recorded one. Some songs, like "Thank You" and "Yes," were just as good pared down. We might not get the gospel-like backing vocals on the latter piece, but in an intimate space such as the Tin Pan, such add-ons weren't necessary.

Nina Simone called jazz "black classical music," and blues should also be put in that category. Foster might not style herself like jazzman Grant Green, but her Gibson jazz-looking guitar (named "Pearl") and her playing have a similar ease and fluidity to them. Having grown up in gospel music traditions, Foster has a sound steeped in that powerful atmosphere. Yet that doesn't mean she can't put in a pop or ballad tone as well. On The Truth According to Ruthie Foster (Blue Corn Music, 2009), she isn't this hardcore blues player. There are bits of soul, R&B, and pop blended in throughout.

For someone who hadn't listened to the August 2026 album beforehand, it was a treat to experience these different versions first. Take "Tangled," for example. On the album, it has a fuller sound; there is a grittiness to it due to the style of the backing instrumentals. But as a solo performance, it becomes an intimate, almost secret-sharing moment. In a way, the other instrumentals and the layering distract from the raw emotion she's radiating. Even her cover of "Ring of Fire" takes a step back. It isn't that flashy thing Johnny Cash does; there remains a burning urgency, but it's made subtle, and it seems all the more daring and full of longing.

Foster is an amazing singer and a good guitarist on top of that. Her ability to connect with a crowd through music as well as stories and jokes elevates her even more.