My heart is heavy hearing of the loss of our dear friend and brilliant musician, Jeff Young. It’s been a joy and an honor to get to play music with him all these years, in benefits and with Jackson Browne’s band. He was so creative and prolific, creating a steady stream of great solo albums right up to the end. He sang so beautifully on my songs “One Belief Away” and “Take My Love With You,” and had a voice, so warm and soulful, unlike any other. As wonderful a person as he was an artist. We will miss him dearly. My love and condolences go out to Susanna, Skyler and Nico and may he be resting in beautiful bliss, staying alive in our hearts always.

Photo by Lauri Reimer

I wanted to respond to the incredible outpouring of messages that have come in since my song, “Just Like That,” won the GRAMMY award last Sunday night for Song of the Year.

I’ve been so deeply moved, often to tears, reading the personal stories of hundreds of you, some of whom have had no familiarity with me or my music before I won that GRAMMY, and were curious why this song had won. After listening, many of you wrote that you were
moved to tears, even inspired to share your own heart-wrenching stories of either having your loved one’s life saved by an organ donation, or having decided at the height of the terrible shock and loss of losing a beloved, that you would donate their organs so that others could live.

These stories and your responses to my song have moved me as much as anything I can remember and I want to thank you so much for this gift. So many messages from nurses and doctors in the field involved with transplants as well as people who were tragically not able to get an organ in time to save their loved one’s life. There are messages from the family members of people who wanted their organs to be donated, but are now living with the guilt when that wish, for whatever reason, was not able to be fulfilled.. These stories run the gamut and I’m just blown open by the vulnerability and power of each of them.

I am so honored that my song and the original news story that inspired it, are eliciting such a deep emotional response for so many. The story behind the song is this: A few years ago I saw a segment on the evening TV news where they followed a woman who was meeting the man who had received her son’s heart for the first time. It was very emotional, but when he invited her to put her head on his chest and listen to her son’s heart, I just lost it. I knew after it stayed with me for weeks, that I wanted to write my own story, inspired so much by John Prine’s music and his beautiful “Angel From Montgomery,” which I’ve sung every show since hearing it in the early 70’s. I wrote about a fictional woman, Olivia Zand, torn by grief and guilt at the loss of her young son, who finds redemption and grace through the loving act of another.

May the song bring about even more awareness and motivation for more of us to support organ donation registration and infrastructure — removing obstacles that have hindered helping thousands connecting to facilitate this miraculous gift of life and help bring comfort to those suffering such tragic loss. I’ve included a link here to organdonor.gov to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor in an effort to more directly connect to and support the 104,085 men, women, and children currently on the national transplant waiting list.

Thank you all so much again for your incredible responses and sharing your beautiful stories. More than any award, fame or commercial success, knowing what my song means to so many may be the greatest gift of all.

Blessings to you,
Bonnie

P.S. To read these many responses, please visit the “Just Like That” lyric video at the following link and read the comments below the video. https://youtu.be/Skd0XR3twCA

Photo by Ken Friedman

I’m still reeling. So grateful to everyone who helped bring me to last night. Thanks to the [tag] Recording Academy members who voted for me; to all the members of our mighty [tag] Redwing Records and support team: to my band, our brilliant engineer, Ryan Freeland, and to my wonderful road crew—I thank you all for helping me get our music out to the world.

And to all the friends, family and fans who lift me up with their steady love and support.

And lastly, to [tag] John Prine and all the songwriters who keep inspiring and giving us the joy of sharing their music.
I’m just bowled over..

Love,
💜Bonnie

Read Bonnie’s Song of the Year acceptance speech and watch all three acceptance speeches below:

Oh, my gosh. Oh, I’m so surprised. I don’t know what to say. This is just an unreal moment. Thank you for honoring me, to all the academy that surrounds me with so much support and appreciates the art of songwriting as I do. I was so inspired for this song by the incredible story of the love and the grace and the generosity of someone that donates their beloved’s organs to help another person live, and the story was so simple and so beautiful for these times.

And people have been responding to the song partly because of how much I love and we all love John Prine, and that was the inspiration for the music for this song and telling a story from the inside. … I don’t write a lot of songs, but I’m so proud that you appreciate this one and what this means for me and for the rest of the songwriters. …

I would not be up here tonight if it wasn’t for the art of the great, soul-digging, hard-working people that put these songs and ideas to music. So I thank my team for helping me get this record out. And thank you so much. I’m just totally humbled. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Song of the Year “Just Like That”: https://youtu.be/4SGDteHRh4Q

Best American Roots Song “Just Like That”: https://youtu.be/XZetqbo60aA

Best Americana Performance “Made Up Mind”: https://youtu.be/s6_Ys0H8drw

Thank you all for your wonderful congratulations on my Grammy wins. l’m still processing and basking in the glow.

I want to share Sheryl’s post from yesterday where she explained the unfortunate technical glitch that marred our otherwise beautiful tribute to Christine McVie at Sunday night’s GRAMMYs show.

It was a very challenging situation, especially for such an important moment in the live broadcast. Sheryl, Mick and I were grateful to hear that the broadcast engineer caught the problem and was immediately able to switch and send the correct keyboard sound to those of you watching at home.

We were very dismayed to hear that unfortunately, those listening in the audience—our friends, peers, and fans — were hearing what we were hearing as well which was the broken keyboard playing in both the wrong key and none of the notes she was actually playing.

How Sheryl managed to play and sing anything close to the song, especially in that highly emotional, live moment, is a testament to her professionalism and artistry.

Technical problems happen, especially on live TV, but we wanted to be forthcoming about why things may have seemed off.

We were so grateful to be able to pay tribute to our beloved Christine. There will never be anyone like her and I love what Sheryl and Mick say at the bottom of her post below.

— Bonnie

Sheryl’s message:

Beautiful Christine! Last night during our Recording Academy / GRAMMYs tribute, something really strange happened. I sat down to play with Bonnie and Mick and the piano was not working right. I still cannot wrap my brain around it because I’ve never had it happen but the clock started for Mick and the first chord I played, only a couple of notes at a time would play. At one point, the piano in our ears was in a different key than what I was playing!

Thankfully, the broadcast mixer noticed something was off and switched over to the microphones. So to everyone else it sounds completely normal. But for us, the digital patch that was what we heard in our ears was CRAZY! 😩🤯

Needless to say, I was disappointed but Mick and I decided after the performance that perhaps Christine might be up there sipping champaign and giggling, having been a keyboard player herself.❤️

So happy for my friend, Bonnie though!! What a night!

“After more than fifty years in music, Bonnie Raitt is far from resting on her laurels; her latest album, “Just Like That . . .,” is nominated for four Grammy Awards this year, including Song of the Year—a category in which her competition includes Beyoncé and Adele, stars a generation younger. She talks with David Remnick about her early career in the blues clubs of Boston, and reflects on the state of the genre today.” – The New Yorker Radio Hour with David Remnick

Listen to the full conversation with Bonnie at the link in bio/here: https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/a-conversation-with-bonnie-raitt-plus-public-enemys-chuck-d

“Long renowned as an interpreter, she has quietly built a catalog of her own. Up for song of the year on Sunday, she talked about her nominated track, ‘Just Like That,’ and a lifetime onstage.” — Jon Pareles, The New York Times

Read the full feature here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/31/arts/music/bonnie-raitt-grammys-just-like-that.html

Photo: Peter Fisher for The New York Times

Bonnie Raitt will return to Canada with her first headlining tour of the country since 2017. Joined by Special Guest Royal Wood on nine dates, the Just Like That…Tour 2023 will make 11 stops in Canada including Vancouver, Winnipeg and Toronto! Raitt and her band will make a dip back into the U.S. for dates in the mountain west and then wrap up the fall tour leg with shows in the midwest. Special guests for the rest of the tour to be announced.

Fan Presale and Special Benefit Seat sales will begin on Tuesday, January 31 at 10am local time.

To access presale tickets, please log in here or register for Bonnie’s FREE Fan Community and once logged in, head to the tour page!

‘JUST LIKE THAT…’ 2023 TOUR DATES

*NEW* DATES JUST ANNOUNCED

02-Sep     Royal Theatre                                                                                Victoria, BC 

03-Sep     Queen Elizabeth Theatre                                                               Vancouver, BC

06-Sep     First Interstate Center For The Arts                                             Spokane, WA

8-Sep      KettleHouse Amphitheater                                                            Bonner, MT  

9-Sep      Theater at the Brick                                                                      Bozeman, MT 

12-Sep     The Monument                                                                               Rapid City, SD

13-Sep     Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts                                   Colorado Springs, CO 

17-Sep     The Santa Fe Opera Theater                                                         Santa Fe, NM 

22-Sep     South Okanagan Events Centre *                                                   Penticton, BC

24-Sep     Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium *                                         Edmonton, AB

25-Sep     Jack Singer Concert Hall at Arts Commons *                                Calgary, AB

27-Sep     TCU Place *                                                                                   Saskatoon, SK

28-Sep     Conexus Arts Centre *                                                                    Regina, SK  

30-Sep     Burton Cummings Theatre *                                                          Winnipeg, MB  

02-Oct     Thunder Bay Community Auditorium *                                        Thunder Bay, ON

05-Oct     Centennial Hall *                                                                            London, ON  

06-Oct     Massey Hall *                                                                                  Toronto, ON 

08-Oct     The Chicago Theatre                                                                     Chicago, IL 

10-Oct     The Riverside Theater                                                                   Milwaukee, WI

11-Oct     State Theatre                                                                                 Minneapolis, MN
* With Special Guest Royal Wood

The remaining dates are with Special Guest TBA. 

ON SALE NOW

10-Mar   Fantasy Springs Resort Casino                                                    Indio, CA

11-Mar   Chumash Casino – Samala Showroom                                          Santa Ynez, CA

14-Mar   Long Beach Terrace Theater *                                                     Long Beach, CA

15-Mar   Venetian Theatre at The Venetian                                                  Las Vegas, NV

17-Mar   Venetian Theatre at The Venetian                                                  Las Vegas, NV

18-Mar   Venetian Theatre at The Venetian                                                  Las Vegas, NV

21-Mar   Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium *                                                    Santa Cruz, CA

22-Mar   SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center *                                Sacramento, CA

28-Mar    Blaisdell Concert Hall ^                                                             Honolulu, HI 

31-Mar    Maui Arts & Cultural Center ^                                                    Kahului, HI

* [With Special Guest Roy Rogers (solo)]

^ [With Special Guest John Cruz]

05-Apr   Palais Theatre (With Special Guest Mavis Staples)                       Melbourne, AUS

07-Apr   Darling Harbour ICC (With Special Guest Mavis Staples)               Sydney, AUS

09-Apr   Bluesfest Byron Bay                                                                   Byron Bay, AUS

10-Apr   Bluesfest Byron Bay                                                                   Byron Bay, AUS

14-May   Brandi Carlile’s Mothership Weekend                                             Miramar Beach, FL

17-May   The Classic Center Theatre #                                                          Athens, GA

19-May   Louisville Palace +                                                                    Louisville, KY

20-May   Murat Theatre at Old National Centre +                                     Indianapolis, IN

23-May   Heinz Hall +                                                                              Pittsburgh, PA

# [With Special Guest Maia Sharp]         

+ [With Special Guest NRBQ]  

1-Jun      Vicar Street                                                                               Dublin, IE

3-Jun      Palladium                                                                                  London, UK

6-Jun      Pavilion Theatre                                                                         Bournemouth, UK

7-Jun      New Theatre                                                                             Oxford, UK

9-Jun      Sage One                                                                       Gateshead, UK

11-Jun     Royal Concert Hall                                                                  Glasgow, UK

14-Jun     Bridgewater Hall                                                                     Manchester, UK

15-Jun     Symphony Hall                                                                        Birmingham, UK

17-Jun     Black Deer Festival, Main Stage                                               Kent, UK

24-Jun  Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater “                                         Chautauqua, NY 

25-Jun  Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival at SPAC                                     Saratoga Springs, NY 

27-Jun  Rochester Jazz Festival – Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre             Rochester, NY 
“ [With Special Guest Chris Smither]

Beyond words, my sadness at saying goodbye to my dear friend. David’s brilliance and uniqueness as a singer, songwriter and guitarist will always set him apart and among the very best. There was no one like him, on or off stage.

Thank you, David, for all you gave us. For all the years of our shared music, activism and friendship. Yours was a life truly well lived.

My deepest condolences to Jan, Django, James and all the family. I know he will live on in our hearts and his music forever.  — Bonnie

Photo by Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images

“Here It’s Almost Sunset” by David Crosby from the album Sky Trails https://youtu.be/DSPKWbTncMI

Shocked and so saddened to hear of the sudden passing of another friend and one of the greatest singers I’ve ever known, Australia’s incomparable Renee Geyer. Her husky, powerful and deeply soulful voice and phrasing has blown me away since I first heard her back in 1980 in LA, while making her So Lucky album with producer Rob Fraboni, and the Bump Band, consisting of legendary keys player, Ian McLagan, drummer Ricky Fataar, guitarist Johnny Lee Schell and bassist Ray Ohara. I was so knocked out I enlisted Rob and that band to play on my next album, Green Light, in 1981.

Whether through decades of her own albums and live shows, joining in on records with Sting, Jackson Browne, Hamish Stuart or my own, “Spit of Love,” with her impossibly low growl, unearthly high swoops but mostly, staggeringly great singing, there was no one like her. She was feisty, fiercely independent and faced a lot being a strong woman in this music business. She was also my good friend and will remain an inspiration and in my heart always. My condolences to her family and friends. –Bonnie

For more about Renee, her life and music:
https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/acclaimed-australian-musician-renee-geyer-dies-aged-69-20230117-p5cd79.html