Last month, Oakland vocalist Miko Marks made her fourth appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, a sign of both her ascending visibility and the changing landscape at the very heart of country music.

Part of a wave of Black women who have made serious inroads into a scene widely associated with red-state America, the former Nashville resident is reveling in her new-found acceptance.

“To do my style of music on that stage is remarkable,” she said. “It’s really opened up to more than country music, from traditional country to Americana and now blues.”

In many ways Marks’ creative journey tracks the Grand Ole Opry’s expanding purview but in fast forward. She started her career as a straight-up country singer, but moving back to the Bay Area, her sound evolved in a soulful Americana direction.

And now she’ll perform monthly through the end of the summer at the storied Yoshi’s club in Oakland.

Blues and R&B run in the Marks family. She noted that the popular, single-monikered 1970s vocalist Latimore is a cousin. Her new album features original songs co-written with guitarist and harmonica player Justin Phipps, who’s produced her releases on East Palo Alto-based Redtone Records.

“I’ve been influenced by a lot of different styles, not just country and not just gospel,” she said. “I did a lot of classical in high school. I’m in my early 50s. I’m not a one-trick pony. I’ve lived.”

In exploring the blues, Marks is less interested in 21st-century iterations of the tradition than in delving into the music’s matriarchal roots. She sees the art form as a vehicle for exploring timeless struggles and topical concerns, and her songs “really speak to the times,” she said, “while harkening back to the 1920s. I wanted to pay tribute to Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, the women who came before me.”

She comes to Yoshi’s on May 21 with special guest Faye Carol, the veteran Berkeley jazz and blues vocalist who’s mentored generations of musicians over the decades, from piano star Benny Green to her current protégé, pianist Joe Warner.

Carol has featured Marks at several of the showcases she and Warner have produced, most recently at the Black Women’s Roots Festival at The Freight last November. “Faye is a dear mentor and a beautiful soul who does a lot in the community for the children,” Marks said. “She’s an unsung hero of mine.”

Marks hasn’t yet announced special guests for her Yoshi’s dates on June 29, July 29 and Aug. 27, but she’s looking to make the most of the spotlight. In recent years her powerhouse voice and commanding stage presence have led to numerous gigs opening for better-known acts, particularly at Menlo Park’s Guild Theatre, where she led off for the Latin rock band Ozomatli last month.

The venue’s talent buyer, Tom Hoppa, is a music business veteran dedicated to developing artists. He heard about Marks from colleagues on the Guild team when he took over booking the theater in early 2025. He put her on a bill and she made a vivid first impression.

“I thought, ‘What an incredible artist! Why isn’t she a huge star?’” Hoppa said. “It’s so much about luck that contributes to an artist’s overall success, notoriety and fame. Miko is an insanely talented musician who can cover a lot of different styles and genres. I’m putting her on as many shows as I can, exposing her to many different types of audiences.”

Marks is also slated to perform Aug. 28 and 29 at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley.

For Marks, the blues isn’t about lamentation. It’s her latest vehicle for overcoming pain while taking audiences to a better place.

“I’ve been through quite a few hard times, and music has become my therapy and healing space, how I connect to spirit,” she said. “I sing my way through anxiety and fear and I’m trying to bring that to the people.”

For the Oakland shows, go to yoshis.com. For the Marin shows, go to sweetwatermusichall.org.

Contact Andrew Gilbert at jazzscribe@aol.com.