Bonnie was thrilled to be a part of a remarkable musical safari to Mali, West Africa, in January of 2000. Led by her friends at Afropop Worldwide, she and a group of avid fans got to experience some of their favorite artists playing live in both towns and local clubs from Bamako to Timbuktu. These included the legendary OumouSangare, DjelimadyTounkara, LobiTraore, AliFarkaToure and HabibKoite. Habib came along for some of the trip and the next year, on tour in the States, brought his band Bamada into the studio in LA to collaborate with Bonnie on their song together, “Back Around,” for her Silver Lining album, released In 2001. She’s been playing the song for the first time live on this latest Just Like That… tour. Afropop Worldwide is revisiting their audio program about the journey, including interviews, music clips and recollections about the trip in the piece “Mali Magic 2000” at the link below. — BRHQ
https://afropop.org/audio-programs/mali-magic-2000

Rest in peace, dear Tony Bennett. One of the greatest singers of all time, and one of the warmest, most joyful and evolved people I’ve ever known. One of the honors of my lifetime was getting to duet with him on his Bennett Sings the Blues album back in 2001. My love and sympathy go out to his family and don’t we know there’ll be some swingin’ on high when Tony passes through those gates.

Thanks to my longtime friend and inspiration, Chris Smither, for being my special guest, at our show last month at the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater in upstate New York. What a great pair!
https://smither.com

Thanks to my dear pal, Maia Sharp, once again knocking ’em out as my special guest opening our recent shows in Louisville and Indianapolis. She debuted new music from her upcoming album, Restless Thoughts. Check out her new singles and stay tuned for more!

KIND: https://youtu.be/WesjOnCPhVE

OLD DREAMS: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/maiasharp/old-dreams

Great news, everyone! We have rescheduled dates to announce for the Pittsburgh, PA and Athens, GA concerts that Bonnie postponed this spring.

The Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh concert originally scheduled for May 23, 2023 will take place April 29, 2024, and tickets for the May 23, 2023 show will be honored for the new rescheduled show. Anyone who would like to receive a refund has until July 29, 2023 to reach out to their point of purchase for a refund.

The Classic Center Theatre, Athens concert originally scheduled for May 17, 2023 will take place May 11, 2024, and tickets for the May 17, 2023 show will be honored for the new rescheduled show. Anyone who would like to receive a refund has until July 29, 2023 to reach out to their point of purchase for a refund.

REMINDER! The rescheduled concerts for Louisville and Indianapolis are this week! Friday, June 30th The Louisville Palace and Saturday, July 1st Murat Theater at Old National Centre, Indianapolis. Both show are sold out, thanks to all of you amazing folks!

Photo by Noah Riffe/Lincoln Journal Star

June 3, 2023
London Palladium

Bonnie is so grateful for this rave review in The Guardian but wants to also acknowledge the crucial contributions to the success of these shows from her stellar band and crew. Knocking it out if the park every night is her longtime rhythm section, Hutch Hutchinson (bass), Ricky Fataar(drums); new members Glenn Patscha (keys), Duke Levine (guitars), all of them singing backup as well. Equally brilliant are her sound and light team, aided by an incomparable stage and production crew. Not for a moment does she feel she got here by herself.

Review by Emma Garland
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jun/04/bonnie-raitt-review-london-palladium

Photo by Antonio Zazueta Olmos/The Guardian

Dublin
https://www.hotpress.com/live-review/live-report-bonnie-raitt-brings-her-just-like-that-tour-to-dublins-vicar-street-22973584

Manchester
https://mancunion.com/2023/06/16/live-review-bonnie-raitt-at-bridgewater-hall/

Birmingham
https://www.weekendnotes.co.uk/birmingham/bonnie-raitt-birmingham-review-142318/

Black Deer Festival
https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/bonnie-raitt-nathaniel-rateliff-black-deer-festival/

“The key to playing this song is to keep the guitar sparse and supportive, and let the powerful story sink in.”

Acoustic Guitar has published a feature on how to play Bonnie’s GRAMMYs-winning Song of the Year, “Just Like That.” Beyond the underlying chords, they break down the added embellishments, voicings, and subtle variations to perfectly match the song itself.
Read more about that here: https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-play-bonnie-raitts-grammy-winning-story-song-just-like-that/

If you’re looking to learn how to play “Just Like That” the way Bonnie does, you can order a physical copy of the May/June Acoustic Guitar issue right here:
https://store.acousticguitar.com/products/no-340-may-june-2023?_gl=16ikl79_gaNjk0OTIxMzE4LjE2ODU2NTk2NTQ._ga_DDZE3W23MZ*MTY4NTY1OTY1NC4xLjEuMTY4NTY2MDM2NS4wLjAuMA

Photo taken at the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center on January 26, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Just like that, you can view Bonnie’s interview with David Wild at the GRAMMY Museum on their website, Collection:Live for FREE! ✨ Celebrating her incredible wins at this year’s #GRAMMYs, including Song Of The Year, Best American Roots Song and Best Americana Performance, the #GRAMMYMuseum was thrilled to welcome 13-time golden gramophone winner and Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award honoree for a special benefit program on March 5, 2023. 🎶 Watch now! https://grammymuseum.vhx.tv/videos/a-conversation-with-bonnie-raitt

Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Courtesy of The GRAMMY Museum

Congratulations to all of the nominees and honorees for the 2023 Americana Music Association Awards & Honors, including Bonnie, whose own GRAMMY award-winning song “Just Like That” has been nominated for the AMA’s Song of the Year! Each year the Americana Music Association honors distinguished members of the roots music community. It’s been an important hub and springboard for many artists whose music stretches the boundaries of blues, bluegrass, country, folk, rock, Indigenous and regional roots music of all kinds. AMERICANAFEST is like “old home week” and this year it takes place Sept 19- 23 in Nashville, TN. Learn more about it here:
https://americanamusic.org/about-honors-awards

We are marking the sad passing this weekend of our friend Chris Strachwitz, 91, founder of Arhoolie Records, ‘an indispensable label for American Roots music, from blues and zydeco to gospel and Mexican folk, for nearly seven decades.’

No one has meant more to the preservation and appreciation of American Roots music than Chris. Through him I discovered Mississippi Fred McDowell, Memphis Minnie, Clifton Chenier, Flaco Jimenez and so many others. He was as large in personality as he was in stature—full of life and passion for the music he loved. I send condolences to his family and will treasure his memory always.
— Bonnie

Please read more about him here:
https://apnews.com/article/chris-strachwitz-obituary-arhoolie-e20882b0af2e4c34900c4163032fd95a

And here’s is an excerpt from the fantastic documentary made about Chris Strachwitz in 2014, [tag] This Ain’t No Mouse Music!
https://youtu.be/wD-hOh0ZDhY

B/W photo: Chris Strachwitz, right, with Mance Lipscomb in a scene from the 2013 documentary This Ain’t No Mouse Music. Photograph: Everett Collection Inc/Alamy

Color photo: Chris Strachwitz in 2011. He was promoter and publisher, folklorist and film-maker, but above all a fan, who pursued his enthusiasms indefatigably. Photograph: San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers/Getty Images