Legendary gospel and R&B vocalist Mavis Staples and jazz bassist extraordinaire Stanley Clarke are among the performers taking part in the 2025-26 season at San Antonio’s Carver Community Cultural Center.
The center’s upcoming performance season, which gets underway Oct. 11, will include a total of 11 music, dance and theater artists ranging from dance troupes and poets to a cappella groups. The series will conclude June 5 of next year.
Other scheduled performers include R&B singer Avery Sunshine, a cappella sextet Take 6 and chamber musicians Turtle Island Quartet — all Grammy winners. Also appearing will be playwright and actress Heather Raffo, poet Reginald Dwayne Betts, Parsons Dance, The String Queens, Leah Glenn Dance Theatre and J-Darius & The Experience, who will present a soulful holiday concert.
“The Carver stands as a vital cornerstone of our city’s cultural landscape and a testament to the power of the arts to transform lives,” Patricia Muzquiz Cantor, the City of San Antonio’s director of convention and sports facilities, said in an emailed statement. “Each year, its performance schedule showcases the transformative power of shared cultural experiences that enrich our minds, stir our souls and strengthen our community.”
The complete schedules for the Carver Center’s Jo Long Theatre and Little Carver Theatre are available online. Tickets for the season are available beginning Tuesday, Aug. 26, via the website or at the Carver box office.
Grammy-winning Staples, the last surviving member of The Staple Singers, is a member of both Rock and Roll and Blues Halls of Fame. Over a career spanning seven decades, she’s crossed between gospel, R&B, soul and more with a powerful and instantly identifiable voice.
Clarke is known for his solo work and as a member of groundbreaking fusion band Return to Forever. Thanks to an approach that blends technique and melody in equal measures, he’s widely recognized as one of the musicians who elevated the bass from a backing instrument into one capable of leading a band.
For more than 75 years, the Carver Center has been an epicenter of African American arts and culture in San Antonio, playing host to performers including Ella Fitzgerald, Patti Austin, Louis Armstrong, Etta James and Dizzy Gillespie.
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This article appears in Aug 21 – Sep 2, 2025.
