• Bonnie Raitt - Interview by Bill DeVille - The Current - October 2013

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With 19 albums and 10 Grammy Awards to her name, it may be easy to think Bonnie Raitt is somehow beyond reach. Not so. In addition to being a hugely accomplished singer-songwriter and guitarist, Bonnie Raitt is friendly, down to earth, and constantly motivated by her love of music and devotion to her fans.

Bonnie recently chatted with The Current’s Bill DeVille about her touring schedule and about her approach to recording albums. She describes how she discovered the blues as a young girl growing up in Los Angeles, and she reveals who she’d still like to sing a duet with after having sung duets with such artists as Tony Bennett, Willie Nelson, B.B. King and with her father, the late Broadway singer John Raitt.

Bonnie Raitt will be in town on Oct. 23, with her friend Mavis Staples, to play a show at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

And in listening to her talk about Minnesota, it seems Bonnie nearly qualifies as a local artist. Her debut, self-titled album was recorded at Enchanted Island in Mound, Minn., on Lake Minnetonka, and she still has a lot of friends here. She talks about playing at the Minnesota State Fair in 2012 and about how she almost collaborated with Prince were it not for busy schedules.

Moreover, Bonnie lauds the Twin Cities for having one of the “most vital, incredibly overlapping music scenes” in the nation, placing it right alongside the cities of Austin, Texas, and New Orleans.

Playlist

“Thing Called Love,” off Bonnie Raitt’s album, Nick of Time
“Right Down the Line,” from Bonnie Raitt’s recent album, Slipstream
“Big Road,” off Bonnie Raitt’s self-titled debut album

Produced by Derrick Stevens