The WCR Center for the Arts will host a special 75th Birthday Celebration to honor music icon, Bonnie Raitt. The Raitt celebration will be held on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 2 p.m., at the event venue, 140 N. 5th St., in downtown Reading. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. The event is free. Donations at the door are encouraged.
“The Bonnie Raitt celebration is a continuation of WCR’s programming commitment to honor influential artists across genres,” said Crystal Kowalski, WCR Program & Events Committee Chair. “The birthday celebrations have been unique and fun events. We hope Bonnie Raitt and all music fans will join the party.”
Previous WCR birthday honorees were musicians Joni Mitchell and John Prine, and author Kurt Vonnegut. The Bonnie Raitt celebration will provide fans with an opportunity to gather and discuss her timeless music, their favorite songs, and personal concert experiences, and enjoy a display of Raitt’s albums and photos.
The program will feature live music segments performed by vocalists Maria Damore and Suzie Ernesto, and guitarist/vocalist Ken Bagenstose, putting their harmonizing spin on classic Raitt songs, including Angel from Montogomery, Nick of Time, Dimming the Day, Runaway, I Can’tMake You Love Me, Women Be Wise, and more.
“Something about this woman’s voice moves me,” said Maria Damore. “It’s playful and soulful — rockin’, gritty, and tender. Bonnie Raitt represents an inspiring trajectory for female singers as they age. The youthful sound of her early years has melded into a rich, colorful palette of sound, phrasing, and style. I’m honored to be singing her songs in this celebration with Ken and Suzie.” Between the live music segments, video selections of Raitt’s performances and interviews will be screened, featuring highlights of Raitt’s amazing musical legacy.
More than just a best-selling artist, respected guitarist, expressive singer, and accomplished songwriter, Raitt has become an institution in American music.
Born to a musical family, the 10-time Grammy winner, who Rolling Stone named as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, is the daughter of celebrated Broadway singer John Raitt (Carousel, Oklahoma!, and The Pajama Game) and accomplished pianist/singer Marge Goddard. She was raised in Los Angeles in a climate of respect for the arts, Quaker traditions, and a commitment to social activism. A Stella guitar given to her as a Christmas present launched Bonnie on her creative journey at the age of eight. Now 67 years later, Bonnie shows no signs of slowing down as she gets ready to celebrate her 75th birthday on Nov. 8.
At the 2023 Grammy Awards, Raitt was honored with three trophies for her work on the latest project, Just Like That — Best Americana Performance, Best American Roots Song, and Song of the Year for the album’s title track. The triumphant night proved yet again that Bonnie Raitt remains one of today’s most powerful artists.
As a sponsor, Trinity Lutheran is making its parking lot available to fans attending the Celebration. Trish’s Specialty Cheesecakes is also sponsoring the event.
To learn more about the WCR Center for the Arts 20th anniversary season’s sponsorship, donations, and volunteer opportunities, visit https://www.wcrcenter.org/.
“I do, August 18,” said an excited Maia Sharp.“Reckless Thoughts” is the name of it. Reckless thoughts is a line from one of the songs. “California” is the song and it’s “Reckless thoughts and broken hearts collide.” As I was combing through all of the lyrics looking for a possible title, that one kind of leapt out at me because the reckless spot can be the thing that gets you in trouble and also the reckless thought can be the thing that leads you to where you’re supposed to go. I feel like songwriting sometimes is just a series of reckless thoughts (laughs); you know? You kind of want to let your brain be free and go somewhere that feels a little dangerous to find the next idea. So, the reckless thought isn’t always a bad thing and it felt like the double meaning of that could be worthy of the album title”
“Reckless Thoughts” is Sharp’s ninth solo album but her past songwriting has served her well as she has penned material for Trisha Yearwood, Cher, with and for Art Garfunkel as well as one of her “Inspirations,” Bonnie Raitt. So, to understand where she started where she is now and where she is going with her music which has been called, “The culmination of a 25 year career,” let’s start at the beginning.
“Originally I’m from California, I was born in Central Valley and moved to Los Angeles when I was five and I was there my whole life until the beginning of 2019,” she explained. “So, I had over 40 years in L.A. and still feel very much a Californian even though I moved to Nashville about four years ago. Nashville is definitely a good fit, it’s a better musical fit for me and the community here is very supportive and even though I have some really close friends back in Los Angeles, there is something about the atmosphere here that just feels like a better fit for how I write and what I want to do with my music and it’s definitely the way to go.”
One “Way to go,” was a project involving legendary vocalist and half of one of the most successful duos of all time, Art Garfunkel.
“I did a trio project with him,” she said with a laugh. “Billy Mann was a mutual friend of ours and Billy had this idea that Art, Buddy Mondlock and I should work together and Art, believe it or not, had never written songs before he worked with us. He had written prose and obviously he had been a singer for years but he wasn’t a songwriter until we all got together and did our thing. That was a really cool experience; getting to write with him, sing with him, record with him, tour with him, I learned a ton.”
Prior to that moment in time, Sharp had another influencer before the term “Influencer” was popular; the aforementioned Bonnie Raitt.
“The Bonnie Raitt experience was incredible,” she stated with reverence. “I’ve been a fan of hers pretty much my whole life and having the opportunity to meet her, hear her record my songs, then I got to record with her and then I got to go on the road with her; I opened up for her for a couple of months and then here and there since 2005. I opened for her at the end of June/ beginning of July; she has become a good friend and it’s like a dream and such a validating one too.I always felt a connection to her music and then when she chose to record my songs, she let me know that she felt a connection to mine also; that was huge. That was such a B-12 shot to my confidence too and since then, kind of anything that didn’t go right, I could tell myself, yeah but Bonnie loves me (laughs).”
“I went to college as a saxophone performance major so I got into Jazz and Blues,” she continued. “I grew up listening to Folk and Indie Rock; I like Classical, I like all kinds of music but she just happens to be really, really good at her kind of music. She’s stronger all the time, I had the unique opportunity to see her many times over the years. As a fan, I think the first time I saw her live I was maybe 15 and then I think the next time was my early twenties and then I got to open for her and see her from the wings in my thirties, forties and every time I see her, she gets impossibly stronger. I got to open for her last March and she just crushed it! How is that possible? How does she just keep getting better? She really is an inspiration. I think a lot of the key to staying that strong is literally staying healthy. After a certain age, your body doesn’t forgive you as much for the shit that you put it through (laughs). So, those that make the right choice at the crossroads; like, I can either start really weathering my body or I can stay strong into my seventies. The people who make the second choice, we get to hear it; Bonnie takes really good care of herself and you can see it and hear it on stage and it’s an inspiration.”
With music royalty such as that in her camp, certainly they must have seeped into some of her “Reckless Thoughts.”
“The Bonnie influence is always there and probably will always be there, the Nashville influence started showing up a little more on my last record in 2021, “Mercy Rising” which is the first album I made since I moved here. It definitely showed up there a bit and it’s in the new record as well but it’s hard to say along the lines of when Nashville has influenced my writing because I’ve been coming here four or five times a year for over 20 years to write. So, even before I lived here I was trying to check-in here as often as I could because there is such a great pool of writers here. So, the influence has come in and out of my writing for a long time but yeah, since I moved here these last two albums; I think you’re definitely going to hear it. When I say a Nashville influence, it’s not necessarily Country, it’s more kind of the brand of Americana that’s strong here now.”
“Reckless Thoughts” has been released to the masses for approximately one week; was there a strategy behind the release date?
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“The album has 10 tracks and I wanted to have everything done in time and we wanted to release the three singles before the album came out. We released “Kind,” “Old Dreams” and then “She’ll Let Herself Out” and that was the radio single. I wanted to get a little ramp up and kind of get the conversation started with those which were only available digitally at first and now everything is available since August 18.”
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Maia enjoys staying busy and has multiple hot irons in the proverbial fire and with such a diverse workload; how will she go about promoting the album?
“I’ve got some shows, probably half of August, half of September and October; I’ve never been the artist who tours 300 days a year. I like to be in town for writing sessions here, producing other artists here; I write for an organization called Songwriting With Soldiers and I do probably two or three trips a month for them. I’m an adjunct at NYU, I have private students there; I like the diversity of all of these pursuits and it has also been the key to my survival (laughs); I need to do a little bit of this and a little bit of that. So, when there is an album out I still do probably two weeks a month and I’ll be hitting a lot of the old favorite places and trying some new ones and I’m looking forward to getting out there, it has been a while. Usually, I go out like a Wednesday through Sunday and then come home a few days and then go out again and in Nashville, I can do that. When I was living in L.A, it was a pain in the ass to go out for a few days and come all the way back, go out and come all the way back and Nashville is so central that that’s really the smarter way to play it. I get a chance to come back home and breathe, restock merch or replace the cable that went bad or whatever. My headquarters is in the middle of the country now and that’s way more convenient for touring.”
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@maiasharp4543 (@maiasharpvevo3191) spoke with “Paltrocast” host Darren@paltrowitzabout her new album, touring plans, writing for other artists, Nashville and more. Recorded via Zoom on July 12, 2023. Theme song by Steve Schiltz.
“I want to thank you all for your beautiful, caring wishes for my speedy recovery,” the singer explains on social media. “Everything went really well. My healing is on track and I’m feeling better every day.”
Raitt also says that she and her band “can’t wait” until she’s cleared to resume touring in a couple of weeks.
In her initial announcement about the nixed shows, Raitt’s team explained that her recovery time would impact four tour dates in May. Two of those shows, in Louisville, Ky. and Indianapolis, Ind., have already been rescheduled to June 30 and July 1, respectively. Two more, in Athens Ga. and Pittsburgh, Penn., will take place on yet-to-be-announced dates in 2024.
All purchased tickets for the postponed shows will be honored on the new dates. However, Raitt also had a fifth planned performance at Brandi Carlile‘s Mothership Weekend on May 14, and that set has been canceled as the singer continues to heal.
“I’m so sorry we had to postpone our shows and apologize to those of you who won’t be able to join us for the rescheduled dates. I so appreciate your support and hope you can come see us another time,” Raitt adds in her update.
Raitt concludes her update post with a timely message for Mother’s Day, which will take place this Sunday (May 14). “Happy early Mother’s Day to all the moms, and honoring our grandmas’ lineage too!” she says. “Who’d we be without them? So many thanks.”
The singer-songwriter has been beloved by fans since her rise to fame in the 1970s, and her Nick of Time album won Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards in 1990. In 2023, she had another big night at the Grammys, sweeping categories including Best American Roots Song, Best Americana Performance and the all-genre Song of the Year.
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