Country blues singer Bonnie Raitt has played a free two-hour concert at San Quentin State Prison, in the US.
The singer performed in front of about 2,000 male inmates in the prison yard.
In an interview before the show, Raitt spoke about her addiction to alcohol and drugs, which she called “the blues disease” .
The concert on 23 June was her first within the walls of a prison, she said.
Bonnie Raitt is on a personal crusade to help people stay clean and sober. Saturday, she played in front of an audience at California’s San Quentin Prison. Before the concert, she accepted a picture of San Quentin Prison given to her by inmate Wolf Stipe, left center.
Bonnie Raitt is given a picture before the concert.
‘Heartbreak’
“We’re all here together,” Raitt said. “We’re all just one infraction away from being in a prison ourselves. I could’ve been here in a minute.”
She added: “I could’ve been too angry and if I had a gun in my hand instead of a telephone or a guitar, I’d be right in here.” Raitt says she has been sober for the last 14 years.
Raitt gave the concert because she wanted to help other inmates at the prison to stay sober.
“If I can give some help to somebody who’s struggling, whether it’s with alcohol or heartbreak – music can heal,” she said.
Raitt has volunteered for Bread and Roses, an organisation which provides free live entertainment to people who live in institutions or are otherwise excluded from society.
“This is a community that deserves to have music,” Raitt continued. “I think spiritually and personally it has a transformative effect on both the artist and the people that we’re playing for.
“It just kind of ups the humanity… it’s a soul-to-soul connection.”
Prison warden Jeanne Woodford was delighted with the impact of Raitt’s concert. “The idea isn’t really to entertain, although entertainment is a part of it,” she said.
She added: “It really is to send a message – that clean and sober is the way to go. I think we have the right people here to deliver that message, people that these guys will listen to.”
One inmate, recovering heroin addict Brad Bennetto, welcomed contact with the outside world through concerts.
“We’re still part of society,” he said. “Maybe we’re the undesirable part, but you’re going to have to deal with us eventually.”
Edward Bunker
San Quentin, established in 1852 in Marin County, is California’s oldest and most notorious prison. It also contains the only gas chamber and death row in the entire state of California.
Previous inmates include Eddie Bunker, who won the Macallan Dagger award for Non-Fiction for his memoirs.
The book, Mr Blue, tells of the time the US actor and writer spent in San Quentin prison before his successful writing career began.
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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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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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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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