Ruthie Cecelia Foster is an American singer-songwriter of blues and folk music. She mixes a wide palette of American song forms, from gospel and blues to jazz, folk and soul. She has often been compared to Bonnie Raitt and Aretha Franklin. Foster has been nominated for multiple Grammy Awards for Best Blues Album and Best Contemporary Blues Album.

As the milestone tenth studio album from folk-blues luminary Ruthie Foster, Mileage finds the singer-songwriter reflecting on a life full of professional triumphs, personal loss, and a musical journey that took a self-described “little Black girl with a guitar” from singing at churches in rural Texas to chalking up multiple Grammy nominations and collaborating with fellow greats such as Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks.

The album’s soulful first single, “Rainbow,” is a hopeful message of simply letting love be love. “People ask me what is love?” sings Foster. “I just point to you. People get so hung up; I just run to you.” It’s a powerful message from a queer Black female artist speaking to her journey through love and life.

The opening notes and backing choir (the vocals all performed by Foster) of the inspiring “Good For My Soul” hearken to the singer’s gospel roots. It was a song that Bryant had been working on for his band, but it wasn’t the right fit. When he played it for Foster, it was immediately clear that it was her song. (As a thank you, she offered up her voice for “Happy Gets Made” on Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown’s Electrified album.)

Some songs, like “Heartshine,” emerged around a word or a phrase that stood out during the writing sessions. One of the first songs the trio put together, the track made the group realize they were all working towards the same goal: create something that gives you goosebumps when you hear it. “That’s when we really settled into how we were going to write together,” said Foster. “Taking the conversation, turning it into poetry, and just letting me run with it, melodically.”

A holy marriage of gospel and blues, “Done” brings together Foster with Lovell in what was intended as an end-of-day session to quickly make note of a song idea before they forgot it. “I’m just gonna get in where I fit in,” Ruthie had declared in an earlier discussion about the group writing together. Her play on words, along with her memories of her grandmother begging her to hush, inspired the lyrics to the song. Singing into a single mic, the pair played off of each other in what ended up being a single-take recording session, with Megan Lovell coming in afterwards to add the lap steel guitar that would complete the track.

With nods to musical legends and heartfelt tributes to her roots, Mileage is more than just an album—it's an invitation to take part in a conversation about memories, emotions, and shared humanity. It’s a reminder that every journey, no matter how far, eventually takes us home.