This Women’s History Month, Brandi Carlile is honoring Bonnie Raitt.
Long before she was the Grammy winner the world knows today, Carlile, 41, says she stood outside of Raitt’s concert at the Puyallup Fair nearby her hometown in Washington because she “couldn’t afford to go in.”
“I listened to her lecture rednecks about the environment,” the singer recalls to PEOPLE. “I remember she was one of the first purveyors of biodiesel buses.”
Bonnie Raitt Says She Is ‘Always Really Proud to be Acknowledged’ amid 2023 Grammy Nomination
Bonnie Raitt is just happy to be included at the Grammys this year. “It’s nice to represent the oldsters!” she joked as she talked to PEOPLE’s Janine Rubenstein and Jeremy Parsons on the red carpet at the Grammys Sunday night.
Later, she says, she went to one of Raitt’s shows at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, and she caught Raitt’s guitar pick that said “No Nukes” on it.
“I love Bonnie Raitt’s ability to speak to the every man while pushing radical — and they shouldn’t be considered radical — concepts that challenge people to think broader about one another,” she says. “I just think that Bonnie is a fantastic activist, speaker and leader. I have so much respect. She’s beyond reproach.”
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Brandi Carlile and her wife Catherine Shepherd Carlile are honored amongst PEOPLE’s 2023 Women Changing the World for their work with their Looking Out Foundation
In May, Raitt, 73, will perform at Carlile’s inaugural Mothership Weekend festival in Florida.
“We have a festival in Mexico called Girls Just Wanna Weekend, and we created that festival to speak to the fact that there’s a disparagement in headlining spaces for women in music festivals in the United States,” Carlile says. “That festival sells out every year the minute it goes on sale, so it’s starting to exclude people because it sells out. It’s also excluding people who have monetary restrictions because it’s in Mexico. So we wanted to do something like that stateside, not necessarily centered on women, but celebrating matriarchy.”
Like Raitt, Carlile thinks it’s important to incorporate activism into her career. At the festival, she and her wife Catherine will have an “action village” set up to spotlight LGBTQ+ rights, global maternal health and reproductive rights.
“It’s going to be really interactive,” says Catherine. “Basically, attendees are going to be able to visit these information booths and find out how they can support.”
Brandi Carlile’s Wife and Daughters Adorably Introduce Her Performance at the 2023 Grammys
Brandi Carlile’s wife Catherine Shepherd and daughters adorably introduce her performance at the 2023 Grammys.
The first few rows of the venue of the festival are also going to be transformed into a large cove they’re calling the “Teacher’s Lounge.”
“We set aside these passes for educators, and there’s these upgrade opportunities, and it’s a really good view of the gig,” Carlile says. “It’s our way to thank teachers in Florida who are really struggling with oppressive laws surrounding their curriculum. We just want to throw a party for them and have a spot where they can sit and drink wine.”
In the years she’s done her Girls Just Wanna Weekend, Carlile says she’s had so many “powerful” moments. The most recent festival was in January.
“Looking out from the stage this year, I saw so many men,” she says. “I loved it so much. That’s when you see the tides changing — when men realize their role and responsibility in platforming female leadership, and that they realize that it’s f—ing fun.”
Above all, one golden attribute renders our species worth saving: a capacity for compassion, to see the world through another’s eyes, and to feel it with a shared heart.
It’s the rare empathetic genius whose music can evoke, exalt and immortalize that capacity.
High atop that list would be Bonnie Raitt, whose transcendent Just Like That has soared to the top of the charts… and into the timeless repertoire.
Daughter of a concert pianist and a Broadway legend, Bonnie has climbed unique artistic, political and spiritual peaks.
Her lifetime in music slides from blues to folk, r&b, rock, reggae, pop, classical standards and more. A partial of list of artists with whom she’s performed tracks our musical heart-print, through the likes of John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, CSN, Jackson Browne, Sheryl Crow, John Prine, Nora Jones, Pete Seeger, Allen Toussant, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Ruth, Charles & James Brown, Peter Tosh Taj Mahal, Mavis Staples, and more. Her duet with her father, John Raitt, moves mountains:
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At her recent packed concert at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, Bonnie made special mention of her long-time “dear friend” John Prine, who wrote Angel from Montgomery, now one of her signature songs. “His tragic loss to Covid in 2020,” she added, was “absolutely in my heart.”
Raised in Quaker traditions, Bonnie’s commitments to peace, human rights, ecological and other issues are legendary. Among the scores of benefits she’s headlined and helped organize are the watershed 1979 NO NUKES concerts and mass rally against atomic power. More recently she’s joined long-time cohort Jackson Browne in asking California Governor Gavin Newsom to shut the Diablo Canyon atomic reactors and fully move the state to green energy.
Bonnie’s decades of live performances attest to a relentless perfectionism married to a natural, unassuming humor that in concert are a joy to behold.
Born in 1949, Bonnie will sing live some 70 times this year.
In June, my daughters saw their “Auntie Bonnie” at New York’s Beacon Theater, and then in September at LA’s Greek…a full thirty years since two of them, as toddlers, first joined her on a stage in Dayton.
In that era, the pop repertoire has been filled with relational odes bouncing around from lust to love to sadness, breakups, forever joy, all those essential matters of the heart. From Runaway to Longing in our Hearts to Nick of Time to I Can’t Make You Love Me, Ms. Raitt’s portfolio has happily embraced the romantic landscape.
Much of her set list has come from other writers. She is a master of the memorable cover.
But lately she’s been composing more of her own. Her 2016 The Goin’ Round is Comin’ Through is, in her words, “an indictment of those perpetrating misuse of power and saying their days are numbered.”
In Just Like That she goes beyond.
With Bonnie’s ten Grammys and countless awards at its back, her latest album has sailed straight to the top. The collection is full of musical treasures.
But two of her lyrics have found the Slipstream.
Down the Hall flows through the soul of a convicted murderer consoling a fellow inmate about to pass from cancer. The offer to accompany him to hospice– and then to assume the amazing grace of comforting the many doomed– cuts to the human core.
And in the end, when I hold their hand, it’s both of us set free.
As for the breathtaking Just Like That , take a listen:
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A woman has lost a son. She carries the ultimate cross.
I spent so long in darkness, I never thought the night would end.
They say Jesus brings you peace and grace, Well He ain’t found me yet.
But a stranger has brought an astounding message.
It was your son’s heart that saved me, and a life you gave us both….
The catharsis bursts with all that amazes us about the human spirit.
I lay my head upon his chest, I was with my boy again.
Against all odds, in a life otherwise so painfully unkind….
…Somehow grace has found me, and I had to let him in.
Be sure to see this magnificent woman in concert wherever you can.
Well just like that your life can change, look at what the angels sent.
Including Bonnie herself, whose gentle genius and transcendent soul still give us all reason to believe.
Harvey Wasserman is author of HARVEY WASSERMAN’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES; SOLARTOPIA! OUR GREEN-POWERED EARTH and A GLIMPSE OF THE BIG LIGHT: LOSING PARENTS, FINDING SPIRIT. He writes regularly on politics and the environment at solartopia.org and freepress.org.
The midterm elections are fast approaching, and many new voters will be heading to the polls on November 8 thanks to Harry Styles, Bonnie Raitt and the Dave Matthews Band.
The artists have partnered with HeadCount, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization working to register all eligible voters. Thanks to their efforts in raising awareness about the upcoming elections, HeadCount confirmed to ABC Audio that 150,000 new voters have registered so far this year.
In a previous statement, Tappan Vickery, HeadCount’s senior director of programming and strategy, explained why the organization’s partnered with such well-known celebrities. “Midterm elections do not receive the same attention as presidential cycles and often see fewer voters at the polls – especially young voters,” Vickery told ABC Audio. “Working with cultural leaders, like the incredible Harry Styles, is one of the most effective ways to increase awareness and participation in the 2022 midterm election.”
The organization teamed up with artists like Harry and Bonnie after the most recent census data showed nearly half of all individuals between 18 and 24 years old were not registered to vote. In addition, over 8 million 18- to 19-year-olds are now eligible to vote; HeadCount aims to reach them through its registration campaigns.
Other artists to have partnered with HeadCount include Beyoncé, Anderson .Paak, Ariana Grande, Panic! At The Disco and Billie Eilish.
We get people registered to vote and interested in democracy. We’re at concerts, festivals, community events – anywhere we can translate the power of music and culture into real action.
Bandana Blues is and will always be a labor of love. Please help Spinner deal with the costs of hosting & bandwidth. Visit www.bandanablues.com and hit the tipjar. Any amount is much appreciated, no matter how small. Thank you.
Bonnie has contributed a new recording of "Prison Bound Blues" written by Leroy Carr to a project called Better Than Jail, an extraordinary new album benefiting Free Hearts and Equal Justice USA. Better Than Jail is available everywhere today and features covers of iconic prison songs from Steve Earle, Taj Mahal,Margo Price, The War and Treaty and many more. The album seeks to raise awareness and support for the urgent need to reduce the harm of the criminal justice system. https://found.ee/BetterThanJail. I'm so proud to have joined in with so many illustrious artists in creating this very special album in support of rural prison reform. Overlooked for far too long, this issue cuts across all cultural and political divides and deserves all our focused attention to finally bring about some swift and meaningful action. Better Than Jail is one of the most inspired and heartfelt albums I've been blessed to be a part of and I hope it sets a fire in hearts far and wide to join in our efforts." ~ Bonnie Raitt
Released on: 2024-10-04 Executive Producer: Brian Hunt Producer: Kenny Greenberg Producer: Wally Wilson Producer: Bonnie Raitt Recording Engineer: Jason Lehning at Sound Emporium Mastering Engineer: Alex McCollough at True East Mastering Production Assistant: Shannon Finnegan Mixer: Justin Niebank at Hounds Ear Music Publisher: Universal Music Corp. Composer, Lyricist: Leroy Carr ℗ Believe Entertainment Group and Wyatt Road Records
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The Fabulous Thunderbirds - Nothing in Rambling Ft. Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Keb' Mo' & Mick Fleetwood
In celebration of the band’s 50th Anniversary, The Fabulous Thunderbirds have just released Struck Down, their first studio album in eight years on Stony Plain Records. The ten-track album includes a wonderful cover of Memphis Minnie’s “Nothing in Rambling,” featuring longtime friends, T-Birds founding member Kim Wilson, along with Bonnie, Keb’ Mo’, Taj Mahal and Mick Fleetwood. — BRHQ
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Little Feat - Long Distance Call
“I’ve always loved Little Feat and this new incarnation of the band is bringing some serious heat, cred and new blood to their enduring legacy. Every Feat fan loves us some Sam. I’m so glad he’s now gotten a chance to step out front and center and put his spin on these wonderful blues songs. I loved singing "Long Distance Call" with him, always one of my favorites, and Scott slayed on slide. Know you’ll enjoy hanging out with us at Sam’s Place!" -- Bonnie Raitt
“Long Distance Call” was written by blues legend, Muddy Waters. It has Sam Clayton and Bonnie Raitt on vocals, Scott Sharrard on Dobro, Fred Tackett on acoustic guitar, Tony Leone on drums, and Michael “The Bull” LoBue on harmonica. The album also features Bill Payne on piano and Kenny Gradney on bass.
Little Feat have composed an album that’s their love letter to the blues entitled, ‘Sam’s Place.’ “Long Distance Call” plus many other blues classics are on this album. You can stream and order ‘Sam’s Place’ here: https://orcd.co/samsplace
Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine, Vol. 2, the anticipated new John Prine tribute record from Oh Boy Records, is out today. Stream/purchase HERE.
Created as a celebration of Prine’s life and career, the album features new renditions of some of Prine’s most beloved songs performed by Brandi Carlile (“I Remember Everything”), Tyler Childers (“Yes I Guess They Oughta Name A Drink After You”), Iris DeMent (“One Red Rose”), Emmylou Harris (“Hello In There”), Jason Isbell (“Souvenirs”), Valerie June (“Summer’s End”), Margo Price (“Sweet Revenge”), Bonnie Raitt (“Angel From Montgomery”), Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (“Pretty Good”), Amanda Shires (“Saddle in the Rain”), Sturgill Simpson(“Paradise”) and John Paul White (“Sam Stone”). Proceeds from the album will benefit twelve different non-profit organizations, one selected by each of the featured artists.
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Bonnie Raitt - Write Me a Few of Your Lines/Kokomo Blues
60 years anniversary celebration of Arhoolie
December 10, 2020
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Arhoolie Foundation celebrates it's 60th anniversary (1960-2020) with an online broadcast.
Bonnie Raitt - Shadow of Doubt
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
October 3, 2020
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass celebrates it's 20th anniversary with an online broadcast titled “Let The Music Play On”.
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Bonnie Raitt & Boz Scaggs - You Don't Know Like I Know
Farm Aid 2020 On the Road
Sam & Dave classic written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter.
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Sheryl Crow & Bonnie Raitt - Everything Is Broken
[Eric Clapton’s Crossroads 2019]
Eric Clapton, one of the world’s pre-eminent blues/rock guitarists, once again summoned an all-star team of six-string heroes for his fifth Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2019. Held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, the two-day concert event raised funds for the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, the chemical dependency treatment and education facility that Clapton founded in 1998.
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'A Tribute To Mose Allison'
Celebrates The Music Of An Exciting Jazz Master
Raitt contributed to a new album, If You're Going To The City: A Tribute To Mose Allison, which celebrates the late singer and pianist, who famously blended the rough-edged blues of the Mississippi Delta with the 1950s jazz of New York City.
NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to Bonnie Raitt about her friendship with the Mose Allison. They're also joined by Amy Allison — his daughter, who executive produced the album — about selecting an unexpected list of artists to contribute songs to the album.
Recorded on tour June 3, 2017 - Centennial Hall, London - Ontario Canada
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