Ruthie Foster

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Jody Domingue

Ruthie Foster and a resonator guitar.

Ruthie Foster

Ruthie Foster’s most recent studio album, 2024’s Mileage, finds the artist right at home on a set of horn-drenched soul, blues and roots music. The album earned Foster a well-deserved first Grammy win in 2025 (after five previous nominations) for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

media release:  Fresh off her GRAMMY® win for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2025, Ruthie Foster released a digital deluxe edition of Mileage—her widely acclaimed Sun Records debut—on April 18, 2025. The expanded release features five brand-new bonus tracks, offering fans a deeper look into the heart of an album that has already cemented its place as one of Foster’s most personal and celebrated works to date.

At the center of the deluxe edition are four intimate acoustic versions recorded live at the historic Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. Accompanied by Mileage producer Tyler Bryant on guitar, Foster reimagines “Mileage,” “That’s All Right,” “Rainbow,” and “Heartshine” with stripped-back arrangements that bring the songs’ emotional core into full focus. Recorded where legends like Elvis Presley and Howlin’ Wolf once stood, these tracks offer a powerful sense of place and legacy—echoing Foster’s own connection to Southern roots and timeless storytelling. The tracks were laid down during a live session in 2024, when Sun Records hosted a special event at the iconic studio to honor the 70th anniversary of Elvis’s “That's All Right.” 

Rounding out the collection is the electrifying new focus track, a soulful reinterpretation of the Sam & Dave classic “Hold On I’m Coming.” Produced by Bryant, the track pays tribute to the Memphis soul tradition and to Sam & Dave’s original recording for Stax Records, just a few miles from Sun Studio. Foster brings her unmistakable voice and uplifting energy to the song, infusing it with a bluesy fire and a message of resilience that mirrors the themes of Mileage itself.

“This deluxe edition gave me the chance to revisit these songs in the place where so much of American music history was made,” said Foster. “There’s something about Sun Studio—it pulls something honest out of you. And recording a song like ‘Hold On I’m Coming’? It was like standing in the footsteps of giants. This one’s for Memphis.”

Originally released in August 2024, Mileage marked Foster’s tenth studio album and her first on the legendary Sun Records label. Produced by Bryant and written in close collaboration with him and his wife Rebecca Lovell (Larkin Poe), the album spans gospel, blues, folk, and soul, chronicling Foster’s journey through personal loss, creative renewal, and life as a queer Black woman in Americana music.

In February 2025, Mileage made history as the first Sun Records album ever to win a GRAMMY®. It’s now nominated for a Libera Award by A2IM, further underscoring Foster’s impact on the independent music world.