Maia Sharp, a musician who’s written songs for Bonnie Raitt, Cher, Edwin McCain, Art Garfunkel, Keb’Mo’ and more, opened the show as people were still finding their seats.

Thankfully, some talkers got emphatically shushed into silence, so all could, undisturbed, take in this amazing singer/songwriter armed with only her guitar.

“Junkyard Dog” and the wry “Nice Girl,” with the key lyric derived from her ex saying, “You’ll make a nice girl miserable someday,” had the crowd smiling and immersed in her love-lost storytelling. “Old Dreams” and other songs from her Reckless Thoughts album, which will be released in August, were also performed.

If you don’t know Sharp, you may’ve heard her song “Nothing But the Radio” in rotation on 92.3 WTTS. They presented the evening’s show as part of their Rock to Read Concert Series, which raises funds for children’s literacy programs through the Indianapolis Public Library. Learn more at wttsfm.com.

Bonnie Raitt is the GOAT. The blues-rock star doesn’t need a review or any clever compliments. Her praises have been sung for decades with her voice, guitar skills, and songwriting unwaveringly prodigious.

She was met with a standing ovation when she walked onto the stage. This was before she could even grab her guitar – her first of many. With a cool poise and ease in delivery, she started the show with “Made Up Mind” from her latest album from 2022, Just Like That… followed by the funky “Used to Rule the World.”

An expansive backdrop of a clouded sky dusted with sunset pinks set the mood while the Ukrainian flag rested on the drum riser. Raitt, an elegant activist, said, “We’re traveling with the Ukrainian flag,” as a reminder of the country’s plight.

On the last night of the tour before a two-month hiatus, Raitt said, “It’s like the last night of summer camp, so anything could happen.” This show was rescheduled from a May 20 postponement due to a “medical situation that required surgery to address.” her social media had relayed. Whatever the matter, she appeared unsurprisingly bionic and unconquerable. Later in the show, she humored, “I’ll be happy to be home and do my laundry.” But her uniform tour blouses (who makes them?) probably require dry cleaning. For this night, she donned a dark blue satin, three-quarter sleeve button-down shirt with sparkly pin-stripes and raspberry-fushia turned-back cocktail cuffs – a shirt made for guitar playing.

Truly a badass, her voice was mesmerizingly perfect in person. She pulled from her heart to relay every lyric in her timeless songs. Interacting with the audience, she had a quip for any banter—a pro. The sound quality was exceptional, and the depth of synergy among the band was brilliant, pushing the escapist experience of witnessing this legend live. The band is la crème de la crème: Hutch Hutchinson, her bassist of 30 years; Ricky Fataar of The Rutles fame and a Beach Boy for a stint in the early 70s on drums; the soulful Glenn Patscha on keys: and the famed Duke Levine on guitar. Tight and meticulous.

“No Business” from the “Luck of the Draw” 1991 album was up next, giving fans the treat of witnessing her slide guitar mastery. She then praised her team, saying, “I love my band, and I love this crew…thank you for a great tour,” before launching into “Blame It On Me” off the new album. Before Patscha could lay out the soulful, moody intro on the Hammond, Raitt said, “I’ve got to get pissed off to sing this.” Naturally, it was one of her many love and heartache songs making attendees teary-eyed. “Nick of Time” from her 1989 breakthrough album of the same title roused this retiree-aged crowd enough to clap along and cry a little more. Guitar number four came out for the melancholy “Just like that,” then a lively “Something to Talk About.” Accolades to the uninhibited: a woman with a close-up orchestra seat on the right side who got up and danced, and the guy to the far left about seven rows back who grooved in the aisle for the whole show.

It was great to hear hits like “Love Letter,” “Love Sneakin’ Up on You,” and “Have a Heart” that had people singing along. An intangible, graceful performance of John Prine’s “Angel of Montgomery” with Raitt welcoming “My sister, Maia Sharp,” to the stage to accompany her was an entrancing highlight. Raitt exclaimed, “Thank you for this song,” among her many praises of Prine, and added of Sharp, “One of the finest we’ve got.”

The only peculiar aspect of the evening was the audience. With iconic songs ingrained into Americana like “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” how was the crowd not more diverse? Considering her collaborations, and her style, it made no sense. Does her music reach younger audiences? Was my 48-year-old Raitt devotee friend the youngest person in the crowd? OK, staff circling the aisles with their green lights, ensuring no one was sneaking pics or recording, was a bit annoying, but whatever.

Among her three-song encore was a heart-wrenching rendition of “I Can’t Make You Love Me” that, no matter how many times it’s been covered or by whichever greats, it’s Raitt’s emotive embodiment of the lyrics, the story of unrequited love that feels like she’s as the Roberta Flack song goes, “Killing me softly.” Another unforgettable moment in a most remarkable show. Every aspect of this concert would leave anyone awestruck. Seeing Raitt live should be on everyone’s bucket list.

MOBILE, Alabama — “I’m emotionally a mess,” Bonnie Raitt told a packed house Friday night at the Mobile Saenger Theatre. “I just don’t want this tour to end.”

They could sympathize. To judge from their energetic appreciation throughout the show, most of them didn’t even want the night to end. And why would they? Mess or not, Raitt seemed to have all the blessings a musician could ask for, and a desire to share them freely.

The tone and expressiveness of her slide guitar work would be the envy of any six-string gunslinger. Her voice, likewise, had the all the purity in person that her recordings have promised. She had an awesome backing band, and, 41 years after the release of her first album, exuded an energy that showed she wasn’t blowing smoke when she said she was having a great time.

Even opener Maia Sharp had to refer to her as “my absurdly talented buddy.”

Maia Sharp appreciates ‘lofty spot’ as Bonnie Raitt’s special guest (video)

Maia Sharp knows full well that Bonnie Raitt’s fans don’t want to see some random cannon-fodder songwriter warming up the stage before her show this Friday at the Mobile Saenger Theatre. “I just, really, I want to live up to what she and they are expecting,” Sharp said in a recent phone interview.

Sharp herself got the night off to a good start, engaging the audience with a conversational approach to her well-crafted songs. She drew applause with a comment that her trio, featuring guitarist Linda Taylor and cellist Vanessa Freebairn-Smith, was there to prove that “you don’t need a bass player or a drummer or even a guy.”

But it does help to have absurdly talented friends with big, big, voices, and Raitt drew the first standing ovation of the night just by walking out to join Sharp for “I Don’t Want Anything to Change.”

“That’s the hottest thing ever,” Sharp said after Raitt’s greeting. “I have Bonnie Raitt’s lipstick on my cheek.”

The friendly spirit would last through the evening, with Sharp returning several times during Raitt’s set to play sax or sing harmony. A particular standout was “Angel From Montgomery,” which Raitt opened with an a cappella verse, freshening up a familiar, beloved song before her band and Sharp joined in.

Raitt kept up the conversational feel of the night, saying early on that “it’s Halloween week. Anything can happen,” and adding later that because the tour was nearly over, “we’re going to be pulling out all kinds of things.” They did, too, ranging all the way back to that first album for the John Beach/Sippie Wallace song “Women Be Wise,” covering the late-‘90s Bob Dylan song “Million Miles,” and tipping her hat to Denise LaSalle with “A Man Sized Job.”

She praised Mobile’s character, saying she’d sampled a little of it while biking around downtown earlier in the day, and more than once praised the acoustics of “this gorgeous theater.”

That theater was filled to the rafters, the first time in a long time that’s happened for a pop show, and even the star wasn’t taking that for granted. “I’m really glad we sold this puppy out in this economy,” Raitt said. “Thank you so much.”

Raitt has a history as a social activist, and she didn’t let the looming presidential vote go unremarked. “I know it’s an auction this year instead of an election. Something’s got to change,” she remarked at one point. Later, on a more upbeat note, she urged her listeners, “Don’t forget to vote, don’t forget to vote, don’t give up.”

Otherwise, Raitt kept her comments mostly to musical matters, mixing hits such as “Thing Called Love” and “Something to Talk About” with surprises and fan favorites, and capping a 90-minute set with a big four-song encore.

Her fans stuck with her through every turn. Even for the biggest stars, audiences sometimes erode as the hour grows late and the desire to hear the last note gives way to the urge to beat the rush. But this night saw remarkably few defections as the end drew near.

There was no mystery about it. In introducing “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” Raitt had remarked that Adele’s version of the song had brought her some new listeners. Then she gave an emotional reading of the song that showed, once again, just how good she is at making people love her.

It’s possible to see display of talent and still come away feeling like nothing has actually been shared. The hallmark of Raitt’s show was her generosity, and her willingness to make clear that appreciation is a two-way street.

“I can’t tell you what it means to me to have this loyalty,” she said, near the end of the evening.

She didn’t have to: She spent the whole performance showing it.