Sharon Jones holds nothing back. In concert, the powerhouse soul singer throws her entire being into the show, singing her heart out and dancing until she works up a sweat.

Backed by her slick band the Dap Kings, she’s a dynamo who reminds one of James Brown and Tina Turner, and she has been performing at that level for years, building a strong following among college students. They see the 55 year old as an ­authentic voice in classic American soul music. “It’s the young people that got us going,” said Jones in a recent phone interview. “The college students were the first one that got in with us. They came to realize that we have a lot to do with this new soul, and the return to vinyl. They think we’re new, but we’re like, ‘Hey, we started this thing.’”

In fact, things have never been better for Jones, partly because of the recent resurgence in vintage-sounding soul music but also because of Michael Bublé. The Canadian crooner included a duet with Jones, the lusty Baby (You’ve Got What it Takes), on his last album, and then invited her to perform it with him on Saturday Night Live. Thanks to the network exposure, the song became a hit, and Jones was able to put some money in the bank.

So what did she do with her windfall? She bought a house — not in New York, where she has lived for years, but in South Carolina, near where her family originated: “I wanted to get my mother out of the projects. I wanted to get her a home but I never could afford anything before.”

“One song,” she adds, still amazed. “That was my down payment on my house. People tell me I’m not going to make it in this music thing, and they’re wrong.”

Born in Augusta, Georgia, Jones grew up singing in church. Tough jobs working as a corrections officer at Rikers Island prison in New York and as an armoured car guard for a bank paid the bills, but her heart was always in music. Eventually, she met Gabriel Roth during a studio session, and when he launched Daptone Records, she was his main priority. Her second album, 2002’s Dap Dippin’ with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, was critically acclaimed, the first sign that she might be able to make a career in music.

Almost a decade later, she’s thriving, but Jones won’t be seeing much of her new home. While one of her sisters looks after their mom, Jones will be out on the road doing what she does best — singing with her band as part of the ongoing tour to promote last year’s excellent album I Learned the Hard Way. Bookings include festivals and clubs across North America, with forays to Brazil and Britain.

“I like performing,” Jones says. “I’m 55 years old and I don’t know how many more years of this I have left to go. But at least I want to see another 10 or 15 years. At my age, to be jumping around the stage like I do, it’s a blessing. And I’m very grateful for that.”