Bonnie Raitt is one of us. Well, almost. We sure treat her like she is. And she reciprocates.
“I get emotional when I’m here,” she said on Wednesday night at the sold-out State Theatre in Minneapolis.
Then the memories started flooding in.
“The Triangle Bar, the Joint, the Cabooze,” the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer said, naming some of her old West Bank haunts. “They’re in my Rolodex of the trouble I caused. I came to roll around in joy for the five decades I’ve been coming here.”
By now, you’ve probably heard the back story. Ever since recording her debut album on Lake Minnetonka in 1971 with producer Willie Murphy, the California singer/guitarist has been a regular visitor to the Gopher State. Especially when her late brother Steve, an engineer/producer, lived here for three decades. She would come here to water ski, hang out and listen to live music.
On Wednesday, the chatty Raitt conducted a roll call of all her musical friends who were at the State Theatre: Maurice Jacox, Bobby Vandell, Melanie Rosales and Ricky Peterson, who has toured in her band.
Raitt, 73, has performed dozens of times in the Twin Cities — from her debut at the Whole Coffeehouse at the University of Minnesota to big gigs at Xcel Energy Center and the State Fair (eight times at the grandstand, 1990-2016). Last summer, she rocked the new Ledge Amphitheater in Waite Park, near St. Cloud.
Bonnie Raitt performs at the State Theater on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023 in Minneapolis.
by Tony Nelson /Special to the Star Tribune
Glenn Patscha performs at the State Theater on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023 in Minneapolis.
by Tony Nelson /Special to the Star Tribune
Bonnie Raitt performs at the State Theater on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023 in Minneapolis.
by Tony Nelson /Special to the Star Tribune
Duke Levine performs at the State Theater on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023 in Minneapolis.
by Tony Nelson /Special to the Star Tribune
Bonnie Raitt performs at the State Theater on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023 in Minneapolis.
Surprisingly, the road warrior hasn’t appeared at a Twin Cities theater in this century. The last one was the Orpheum in 1998, not counting a 2013 charity gala at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The ever-popular star’s concert Wednesday at the 2,200-seat State Theatre sold out well in advance. (She probably could have filled it for a second night.)
It was the penultimate show on a two-year tour, and, frankly, Raitt seemed a little tired. While she was emotional in her conversation, she was maybe less so in her singing.
There were winning moments, though, including a bluesy and brooding treatment of Bob Dylan’s “Million Miles,” the bluesy, jazzy, Mose Allison-evoking “Blame It on Me” with Glenn Patscha’s crying organ, and her own acoustic guitar ballad “Just Like That,” a rivetingly poignant true story about a woman who lost her 25-year-old son but got to hear his heart transplanted in another man. (Raitt did not mention that “Just Like That” won the Grammy in February for song of the year and the Americana Music Award last month for best song.)
By contrast, Raitt’s version of INXS’ “Need You Tonight” (which she dedicated to the TC Jammers band at Bunkers) lacked its usual lusty vibes, and she and her four-man band’s timing was off during “Something to Talk About,” her frisky 1991 hit. However, the group found its groove when Raitt and veteran Boston guitarist Duke Levine, who signed on just last year, jammed briefly on the reggae-flavored “Have a Heart,” another early ’90s tune.
The 13-time Grammy winner explained that she gets verklempt whenever she sings “Angel From Montgomery,” John Prine’s remarkable reflection of an older woman stuck in a bad marriage that she recorded in 1974. On this night, it was seasoned with Levine’s mandolin and Patscha’s elegantly mournful piano before Raitt delivered the last vocal line with a hauntingly painful ache in her voice. Goosebumps, hankies and a standing ovation.
To change the mood, Raitt and her band — with its terrific and longtime rhythm section of bassist Hutch Hutchinson and drummer Ricky Fataar — tore it up on Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House.”
For the encore, Raitt downshifted to the ultimate heartbreaker, “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” her momentous 1991 piano ballad. When she raised her voice on the final chorus, the crowd cheered loudly. Patscha offered a sorrowful piano passage with a little classical flourish for the coda.
Raitt was so overcome that she told her band, “I can’t sing another sad song, guys.” So she skipped the planned piece on her set list and instead moved into the hard-charging 2003 boogie “Gnawin’ on It,” featuring opening act Roy Rogers on acoustic slide guitar. Finally, some genuine guitar fireworks as the two friends exchanged smokin’ slide passages.
For the finale, “Never Make Your Move Too Soon,” a Crusaders tune made famous by B.B. King, Raitt brought out Ricky Peterson from the audience. Currently part of Stevie Nicks’ band, Peterson unleashed some seriously funky organ that prompted Raitt to start dancing and jamming on guitar with Rogers. The giddy redhead looked like she was having as much fun as she did on the West Bank back in the day.
“I wish I could stay here for a month,” Raitt declared during the encore. Alas, she has one more show on the tour — “Austin City Limits,” television’s long-lived live music program.
Jon Bream has been a music critic at the Star Tribune since 1975, making him the longest tenured pop critic at a U.S. daily newspaper. He has attended more than 8,000 concerts and written four books (on Prince, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan). Thus far, he has ignored readers’ suggestions that he take a music-appreciation class.
On the last night of the Minnesota State Fair for 2016, Bonnie Raitt set two grandstand records.
She established a mark for the most appearances by a female performer — eight.
She set a new record for name-dropping of Minnesotans. She mentioned nearly every Twin Cities musician she’d crossed paths with since she recorded her first album on Enchanted Island in Lake Minnetonka in 1971. Willie Murphy, Dave Ray, Pat Hayes, Maurice Jacox, Ricky Peterson and on and on. Melanie Rosales got four shout-outs and Prince got two.
Raitt, 66, has never been more spirited, spontaneous and loving at the Great Minnesota Get-Together. She showed love for the fair (she talked rides and deep-fried stuff) and for things Minnesota-centric (from lake homes to the Cabooze bar). She even dedicated a song to her stepsiblings who were in the audience.
But more importantly, Raitt has never shown as much range and depth musically at the fair. From folk and funk to sad ballads and a Texas waltz and from Afrobeat to blues, she delivered 21 songs with consistent conviction. Her voice may have lost some sweetness and range, but it never sounded more authentic and authoritative no matter the style of song.
First and foremost, Raitt is a standout interpreter of other people’s material. She opened with her treatment of the 1987 INXS hit “Need You Tonight,” which she transformed into an unmitigated booty call, complete with a cockeyed come-hither look. She was masterful on the unrequited ballads “Undone,” written by Bonnie Bishop, the ever-poignant “Angel from Montgomery,” penned by John Prine, and “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” written by Mike Reid and currently part of the repertoires of Adele and Jazmine Sullivan. But no one does it quite like Raitt.
She would start a vocal line ahead of the beat and then let her phrasing linger after the beat. Her face filled with sadness as her voice became sadder than sad. Nobody does ballads quite like Raitt.
Her other essential voice was in abundance on Monday, as well — her slide guitar. Like her singing voice, her slide has many colors. She got lowdown and dirty on the B.B. King blues “Don’t Answer the Door,” swampy and seductive on Womack and Womack’s “Good Man, Good Woman,” mournful on “Undone,” sly and sexy on “Need You Tonight” and stinging on the politicized original “The Comin’ Round Is Going Through.”
While Raitt’s voice and guitar work were expressive, she and her fine four-man band tended to rein themselves in, preferring concert efficiency to roadhouse rocking. Only on the Stones-like stomp of “The Comin’ Round,” a scorching indictment of money controlling politics, did the band truly cut loose, with George Marinelli contributing some Keith Richards-worthy slashing and snaky guitar.
Richard Thompson, a guitar hero in his own right who delivered a smokin’ opening set, joined Raitt for two numbers, including his “Dimming of the Day,” which proved that Raitt can find new depths of sadness every time she comes to town.
“There’s no way I can get through a Minnesota show without a lot of emotion,” declared Raitt, who dedicated the evening to her late brother Steve, a longtime Twin Cities sound engineer.
That’s because Raitt has a deep connection to the Land of 10,000 Lakes. “Thank you Minnesota for giving me my roots,” she told 8,479 fans before funking the place up with the encore of Rufus’ “You Got the Love.”
Love, indeed.
Bonnie Raitt returns to Minnesota, a place she considers her “second home”
Bonnie Raitt has long considered Minnesota her second home. She recorded her first album here in 1971. Her brother Steve lived here for three decades. She’s skied on countless Minnesota lakes. And she’s performed in various venues from the University of Minnesota’s Whole Coffeehouse to the State Fair grandstand, where she’ll make her eighth appearance on Monday.
Jon Bream has been a music critic at the Star Tribune since 1975, making him the longest tenured pop critic at a U.S. daily newspaper. He has attended more than 8,000 concerts and written four books (on Prince, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan). Thus far, he has ignored readers’ suggestions that he take a music-appreciation class.
Bream has interviewed such music royalty as the King of Pop (Michael Jackson), the Queen of Soul (Aretha Franklin) and Prince as well as Bob Dylan, U2, three Beatles, four Rolling Stones and all of Maroon 5. He has performed with Alice Cooper, jogged with Willie Nelson and walked the streets of New York with Bruce Springsteen. A longtime voter for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Bream has also written for the Los Angeles Times, Billboard, Vibe and other publications. He has a journalism degree from the University of Minnesota, where he established the Jon Bream Scholarship for Arts Criticism.
Bonnie Raitt has long considered Minnesota her second home.
She recorded her first album here in 1971. Her brother Steve lived here for three decades. She’s skied on countless Minnesota lakes. And she’s performed in various venues from the University of Minnesota’s Whole Coffeehouse to the State Fair grandstand, where she’ll make her eighth appearance on Monday.
What’s the most Minnesota thing about Bonnie Raitt?
“My appreciation of funkiness,” said the California-born and -based blues/rock/pop veteran.
She then recited a list of names — a who’s who of the West Bank and Minneapolis scene — including Koerner, Ray & Glover, Willie Murphy, John Beach and even Bob Dylan, and later favorites the T.C. Jammers and Mambo’s Combo.
“When I dove into [the Minneapolis scene] — the multicultural aspect of so many integrated bands, great rock and R&B and blues and original songwriting — you can’t imagine what a refreshing impression I got of how original everybody was,” Raitt continued. “They were funky in all the ways of the word. Not caring about fashion, not caring about making money, not swept up in the things that the coasts are consumed with. That multiculturalism stayed with me. I can’t put into words how great that scene was.”
Speaking of funk, Prince reached out to Raitt in 1986 after her 15-year relationship with Warner Bros. Records went sour.
“He said, ‘It was unfortunate you were treated that way [by Warner Bros., his label as well] and would you like to come and do some songs together at Paisley Park. I really appreciate women artists and I’ve always admired you,’ ” recalled Raitt. “I was looking at several offers and I didn’t know if it would be a good fit for me and I didn’t want to necessarily make a commercial dance hit or have that kind of profile. I said, ‘If we could meet in the middle and just so you know that I’m not coming over to be produced by you and be a pawn in your playground. If it can be a real collaboration, then I’d like to do it.’ ”
They arranged a date but Raitt had a skiing accident and her thumb was in a cast. They rescheduled, but meanwhile Prince had already written a couple of songs and recorded the instrumental tracks.
“I appreciated the enthusiasm, but they were not in my key,” Raitt recalled. “The topics were not things I was comfortable singing. It was something like ‘You can mess me around all over town/ But we’re still cool/ I like being your fool.’ That’s not something I’d sing. He was guessing about the lyrics. I loved the tracks but because I wasn’t there I said, ‘We’re going to have to reconvene.’ While I was there, I did a little work on those tracks. They were four or five keys lower than what I sing. It was a lot of fun. He couldn’t have been nicer.”
They talked about their common tastes in music — the Staple Singers, Sly Stone, Earth Wind & Fire and various Minnesota acts.
“We stayed in touch,” Raitt said. In fact, they had a rescheduled date but then Prince extended his European tour.
“He never called me, and I put my guys out of work for six weeks,” Raitt remembered. “A phone call would have been nice.”
Her own label
After rebounding on Capitol Records in 1989 and scoring eight Grammys in six years, Raitt started her own label, Redwing, four years ago. Her first Redwing album, “Slipstream,” won a Grammy for best Americana album and became one of the bestselling indie discs of 2012. This year, she delivered her second Redwing record, “Dig in Deep.”
The album features five Raitt originals, the most songs she’s penned for an album since 1998’s “Fundamental.”
“I was going through 10 years of family illness. There was no chance for inspiration,” said Raitt, 66, referring to two albums that, combined, featured only one of her own compositions. “With the relief of not having to deal with a crisis in my personal life, I had time to focus on writing.”
She thought about grooves she wanted for her concert repertoire. She also had other ideas.
“I wanted to play piano in this gospel Leon Russell kind of shuffle,” she said with enthusiasm. “I wanted to write a political song because everyone’s so pissed off because money has hijacked the political process. I carefully crafted something I thought would appeal to a lot of people. It gets it out there with a Stones feel.”
Although she avoids talking politics onstage in this election year, the longtime activist doesn’t shy away from commentary on her album. “The Comin’ Round Is Going Through” is her indictment of money fueling elections. And she’s singing the new tune on tour.
“People stand up and cheer. I haven’t gotten any boos,” Raitt observed. “I’m very careful about not preaching about my own politics from the stage. I know there’s people who like my music that don’t agree with my politics. It’s been going over great.”
Another “Dig in Deep” number that has become a concert staple is “Need You Tonight,” the INXS hit from 1987. It’s one of the sexiest booty calls Raitt has ever assayed.
“I love rearranging older songs that I love,” she explained. “I love INXS. Ever since that one came out, I wanted to cut it. I’ve been waiting for the right album. I had an idea for how to slow it down and where to put the slide [guitar]. I just wanted to have that pause. It makes me feel exactly what it sounds like.”
One new song she hasn’t been performing in concert is “The Ones We Couldn’t Be,” which closes “Dig in Deep.” It’s one of those deeply emotional Raitt ballads with many layers of meaning.
“I want to go deep when I sing songs, especially ballads,” Raitt said. “It took a long time after the passing of my family and a love relationship.
“The first verse is about my romantic life, the second verse is about my family and the last verse is about forgiveness. How I forgive myself and how I’m handling it. I’m sorry for the one I couldn’t be and I’m sorry for the one that couldn’t be for me. [The song] didn’t come to me until several years after processing loss.”
Raitt has yet to perform “The Ones” in concert.
“Where do you put it?” she asked. “After ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’? People would be slitting their wrists.”
Three blockbusters
Deep emotions have been a hallmark of Raitt’s since her self-titled debut album, which was recorded in Minneapolis folk-bluesman Dave Ray’s studio on an island in Lake Minnetonka with Willie Murphy as producer.
While Raitt’s soulful vocals and guitar chops (especially on slide guitar) landed her in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, she’s as well known for ballads (“I Can’t Make You Love Me,” “Angel From Montgomery”) as she is for rockers (“Thing Called Love,” “Something to Talk About”).
In her midcareer, the daughter of Broadway star John Raitt scored three blockbuster albums — 1989’s chart-topping, 5-million-selling, Grammy-winning “Nick of Time,” 1991’s 7-million-selling “Luck of the Draw” and 1994’s No. 1 “Longing in Their Hearts.”
A generous friend to many musicians, the ever-versatile Raitt has appeared on tribute albums to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Fats Domino, Pete Seeger, Jackson Browne and Lowell George and performed salutes on the Grammy Awards to Etta James and B.B. King. She’s also contributed to albums by Ruth Brown, Charles Brown, Keb Mo and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, among others.
Dealing with sadness
Raitt is no stranger to sadness. It’s not just the unrequited tearjerkers she’s recorded but she’s experienced lots of death, particularly when her parents passed in 2004 and 2005 and her brother Steve, a longtime Twin Cities sound engineer/producer, succumbed to brain cancer in 2009.
In a year in which such musical heroes as David Bowie, Merle Haggard, the Eagles’ Glenn Frey and Prince have died, Raitt says she figured out how to deal with death a long, long time ago. That’s because she spent the early part of her career in the 1970s working with such veteran blues figures as Mississippi Fred McDowell and Sippie Wallace, who died when Raitt was young.
“If I hold the grief in, you can have problems with lungs and bronchial,” she pointed out. “There are certain areas of the body where if you don’t express anger and jealousy and grief and sadness, it can actually cause illness. It’s good to process that stuff and get it out. I don’t turn away from it.”
She likes to stay in touch with what she calls the “tribal campfire.”
“We can suffer with them and, in terms of grief, it really helps to write e-mails and call people and share what they meant to us. The coverage of Prince was incredibly beautiful and it helped us all.”
Raitt has made a habit of telling people she loves them, especially older pals like Mavis Staples, 77, and Tony Bennett, 90.
“Tony Bennett, what an incredible blessing. Such messages of positivity. Tony is a longtime meditator. They used to sit me and my dad next to him at awards shows. He’s got a fundamental sense of OK and calm and perspective, and he experiences life to the fullest and it doesn’t throw him off the rails. He’s so centered. It’s a big lesson for me.”
Bonnie Raitt gets emotional over Minnesota in gracious, spirited concert
On the last night of the Minnesota State Fair for 2016, Bonnie Raitt set two grandstand records. She established a mark for the most appearances by a female performer — eight. She set a new record for name-dropping of Minnesotans. She mentioned nearly every Twin Cities musician she’d crossed paths with since she recorded her first album on Enchanted Island in Lake Minnetonka in 1971.
Jon Bream has been a music critic at the Star Tribune since 1975, making him the longest tenured pop critic at a U.S. daily newspaper. He has attended more than 8,000 concerts and written four books (on Prince, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan). Thus far, he has ignored readers’ suggestions that he take a music-appreciation class.
Bream has interviewed such music royalty as the King of Pop (Michael Jackson), the Queen of Soul (Aretha Franklin) and Prince as well as Bob Dylan, U2, three Beatles, four Rolling Stones and all of Maroon 5. He has performed with Alice Cooper, jogged with Willie Nelson and walked the streets of New York with Bruce Springsteen. A longtime voter for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Bream has also written for the Los Angeles Times, Billboard, Vibe and other publications. He has a journalism degree from the University of Minnesota, where he established the Jon Bream Scholarship for Arts Criticism.
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