Roanoke audiences have waited 30 years to see Bonnie Raitt. In her sold-out 100-minute show on Nov. 15 at the Berglund Performing Arts Theater, the 75-year-old blues legend made her long-anticipated appearance worth the wait. An ecstatic, capacity crowd of 2,151 fans greeted the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer with a standing ovation.

“I don’t play here often enough,” she admitted. “Thank you for coming out to see us and making us feel so welcome.”

Opening with the self-penned “Longing in Their Hearts” from 1994, Raitt followed up with “God Was in the Water” from her 2005 album Souls Alike. It was during the tour for that record that I first saw Bonnie Raitt live. My visit to Roanoke with my dear friend Jeremy Miller was my sixth concert starring the red-haired slide guitar virtuoso.

“For an L.A. person like me,” she said, praising our area, “seeing your beautiful hills in the fall makes me understand why you folks live here.”

Raitt then turned to her latest, triple Grammy-winning 2022 album Just Like That, performing “Made Up Mind,” “Blame It on Me,” and “Livin’ for the Ones Who Didn’t Make It.”

“When I lost my brother in 2009,” she said, speaking of the inspiration for the latter song, “I promised him I would spend the rest of my life grabbing the chances he never got to take.”

“A couple of real-life stories inspired me to write the lyrics to ‘Just Like That,’” Raitt continued, referring to the title track, which won her a pair of Grammy Awards in 2023, including her first for “Song of the Year.” “I wanted to write something like John Prine’s ‘Angel from Montgomery.’ I wish I could have played it for him before we lost him to COVID.”

John Hiatt’s “No Business” from Raitt’s best-selling 1991 album Luck of the Draw was another evening highlight. So was the classic “Love Me Like a Man” from her 1972 sophomore album Give It Up, not to mention “Spit of Love,” another original composition from 1998’s Fundamental.

Raitt launched into her biggest hit, “Something to Talk About,” by omitting the song’s intro altogether, diving straight into the memorable lyrics. The crowd was on its feet throughout.

Switching guitars for nearly every song—from slide to acoustic, electric, and 12-string—Raitt played each one flawlessly, as she did with every song she sang.

“It’s not a fashion choice,” she explained. “Each guitar is pre-tuned to the key of the song.”

At 75, her mezzo-soprano is in as remarkable a shape as her outward appearance. It was clear, however, that she saved her voice for the most important songs, like “Angel from Montgomery,” which brought the crowd to its feet again. Raitt never failed to deliver. Another element not lost with age is her raw sensuality.

“Even at this advanced age,” she said before launching into her 2016 cover of INXS’s “Need You Tonight,” “our thoughts still turn to this.”

She then headed to the piano for my favorite number, “Nick of Time.” As much as I couldn’t help but sing along to most of the songs, I was purposefully quiet during this one, making sure not to miss a single note. Raitt appeared to enjoy it as much as I did.

“I could play that all night,” she said, humming the popular hook she wrote for the title track to her chart-topping 1989 album.

Ending her main set with her cover of Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House,” Raitt returned to the stage promptly for a three-song encore, which featured the staple ballad “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” earning its own standing ovation.

“I couldn’t leave without singing you this one,” Raitt promised. “Mike Reid, a former football player with the Cincinnati Bengals, wrote this song. He’s this giant guy with a tender voice like Michael McDonald’s.”

She then offered another original, “One Belief Away,” which she wrote with Irishman Paul Brady and the late Zimbabwean Oliver Mtukudzi, who also passed away prematurely from COVID. “One Belief Away” from Fundamental was another real treat.

For her closing number, Raitt invited her opening act, James Hunter, on stage to accompany her on harmonica during the classic blues number “Never Make Your Move Too Soon.” Raitt originally recorded the song for her 1995 live album Road Tested, with the late rhythm and blues pioneers Charles Brown and Ruth Brown.

Before departing her adoring audience, Raitt left us with words of encouragement.

“Be kind to each other and let’s help each other through whatever it is we must overcome,” she said, bidding farewell to Roanoke. “Let’s make a conscious decision to be hopeful and joyful.”

Raitt’s opening act was The James Hunter Six. One member of the band was missing, though.

“He’s suffering from a better gig,” Hunter explained.

Although based in England, Hunter and his band of a pair of saxophonists, drummer, and keyboardist, were deeply immersed in the sounds of Motown and American soul from the ’50s and ’60s. Hunter’s own voice showed hints of Marvin Gaye, Ben E. King, and Levi Stubbs. An episode of The Twilight Zone starring William Shatner inspired his own composition, ironically titled “Nick of Time.”

“If England had sounded that good,” Raitt praised. “We wouldn’t have left.”