Mavis Staples at Arizona Musicfest

When Mavis Staples was a little girl, her father stood her on a chair when she performed so that the crowds who flocked to hear the Staple Singers could get a decent look at the source of that powerful vocal. the first of many gospel standards that would define the family’s place in music history.

More than 60 years later, she’s still out there, headed to Scottsdale on Monday, March 6, in support of last year’s “Livin’ on a High Note,” her latest collection of life-affirming, gospel-flavored soul music. After recording two albums that Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy produced, she recorded “High Note” with another “youngster,” as she’d call him, M. Ward, singing songs provided by Nick Cave, Justin Vernon, Neko Case and Merrill Garbus of Tune-Yards.

We caught up with Staples to talk about the new album, her recent work with Arcade Fire and what it was like growing up on the road with her family – Pops Staples and Mavis’ siblings Cleotha (or Cleedy, as she calls her), Pervis and Yvonne – while becoming a prominent voice in the civil-rights movement.

It’s when she talks about the old days that her voice becomes more animated, laughing at the memories, even while telling a story she’s probably told a million times before, that features her playing a getaway driver and ends with “I had never been so happy to see a jail.” When: 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 6. Where: Highlands Church, 9050 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Scottsdale. Admission: $34-$76. Details: 480-840-0457, azmusicfest.org.