Ruthie Foster's amazing voice has taken her on quite a ride. Rising from humble church beginnings in rural Texas, followed by a tour of duty in the U.S. Navy Band, she ended up in New York City where a promised record deal went sour.

After taking a couple of years to care for her ailing mother in Texas, she became the darling of the Austin music scene, where she became a regular nominee at the Austin Music Awards, carrying away several awards over a period of years. Her 2009 album, “The Truth According to Ruthie Foster” earned her a Grammy nomination, and she's won both "Best Traditional" and "Best Contemporary Female Artist" in successive years at the Blues Music Association Awards.

Next week her latest album “Let It Burn” will appear in stores, and it's most definitely one you will want to pick up. Chock full of her signature style of blues, soul, rock, folk and gospel, the album boasts guest appearances by the Blind Boys of Alabama and soul legend William Bell, and, in addition to two new songs penned by Foster, her inimitable versions of songs by Adele, Black Keys, Los Lobos, Johnny Cash, Pete Seeger, The Band, Crosby Stills Nash & Young and more. Add to this the fact that she's got one helluva band: the rhythm section from The Meters, bassist George Porter Jr. and drummer Russell Batiste, the incomparable Ike Stubblefield (Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Eric Clapton) on Hammond B3 organ and piano, as well as guitarist Dave Easley and reknowned saxophonist James Rivers, and you've got one fine album of rockin', bluesy, folky soul music.

Foster's vocal performance is stellar and beautifully nuanced, and the novel arrangements of recognizable gems like “Ring of Fire,” “Long Time Gone,” “It Makes No Difference,” and “If I Had a Hammer” make them all uniquely her own. “Let It Burn” is a great album, worthy of another Grammy nomination at the very least.

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