Before the 2018 CMA Awards, singer Lucie Silvas -- having laughingly recused herself from commenting on the Brothers Osborne's performance with Dierks Bentley, as she is married to the duo's John Osborne -- explained to The Boot that, for her, one of the most electric moments of the evening was sure to be Chris Stapleton's onstage collaboration with Mavis Staples and Maren Morris.

"I mean, come on! That is a soul revival heaven," Silvas exclaimed. "[Morris] is a powerhouse, Chris Stapleton is one of the best singers in the world, and Mavis Staples is a veteran legend. I just think that's going to be amazing."

The resulting team-up speaks to the magic of soul influence in the country genre, a combination that Silvas knows well. Her music is itself steeped in soul and blues traditions, and inflections of different genres and styles are an important part of of her discography.

Still, her newest album, E.G.O., has found a home in in the country world: "Having this album out, and seeing the way it's embraced -- even in country music -- is astounding," she admits. And despite the fact that she doesn't necessarily fit the traditional mold of what a country artist sounds like, the genre's expanding boundaries have given her more of a seat at the table.

"I grew up with a lot of Motown, a lot of gospel and blues," Silvas shares. "That's what I love about country music, at the moment: It's incorporating so much about other genres. There's a lot of cross-genre stuff, whether it's Motown, soul or pop."

Silvas will be exploring that broader array of styles during Anderson East's upcoming Encore World Tour, as his opening act. "That's gonna be really fun," Silvas says.

"I'm such a fan of him. And I think our music is both definitely in the alternative market, so we're gonna have a lot of fun together," she adds. "I'm thrilled with touring with [East] because I really like him as a person, but I think he is an exceptional talent, and he's fire onstage. So I think it's gonna be a really interesting tour, the two of us together."

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