Bonnie Raitt: The raitt stuff

Bonnie Raitt wrapped up her 2022 tour last month, an eight-month long trek which saw her emerge from pandemic isolation to get back to the road-based days of yore.

The 73-year-old blues singer and guitarist played songs from all corners of her celebrated career: hits such as ‘Let’s Give ‘Em Something to Talk About’, ‘Nick Of Time’ and ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’, new tracks from her 2022 album, Just Like That, and a diverse selection of cover versions, such as Bob Dylan’s ‘Million Miles’, Talking Heads’ ‘Burning Down The House’ and B.B. King’s ‘Never Make Your Move Too Soon’.

An especially moving tribute came with her moving version of the late John Prine’s Angel From Montgomery. “It was one of the greatest pains of my life,” she told an audience in Birmingham, Alabama, of Prine’s death. The beloved singer-songwriter passed away in April 2020 from complications caused by COVID-19.

Upon coming off the road Raitt was announced as a Grammy Award nominee for Song of the Year for ‘Just Like That’. The 10-time Grammy winner then promptly announced more European dates in 2023. These are of course preceded by her Bluesfest appearances with Mavis Staples.

As for what Bluesfest attendees can expect from Raitt’s live performances in April, we’ll leave this review by Creating Loafing of her November 20th show in Clearwater, Florida here to ponder on…

“Based on this powerhouse performance, it’s clear that Raitt, too, has plenty more music and tours in her. She even mentioned that her next tour would start up in early 2023. Sure, it’s a tired cliché, but, in Bonnie Raitt’s case, it’s certainly true: she’s not getting older, she’s getting better.”

Bonnie Raitt With Mavis Staples