Ruthie Foster

Grammy-nominated blues artist Ruthie Foster grew up on gospel music. Her family sang and performed religious tunes and touches of that tradition are found in Foster’s sound. But she is also heavily influenced by folk and that combination gives her blues an authentically soulful sound that earned her the title of Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year at the Blues Music Awards last year. Foster performs at North Carolina State University’s Stewart Theatre tonight at 8 p.m., but first she plays live in the studio and joins host Frank Stasio to talk about her path to discovering the blues.