We’re All Hurting: Why Bonnie Raitt Keeps Politics Out of Her Concerts

Bonnie Raitt’s political views are well known, and she’s spoken candidly about her frustration with the developments in Washington over the past months. Still, as she continues touring behind her 2022 album Just Like That…, Raitt has deliberately shaped her live shows into an antidote for the prevailing unrest.

Rather than using the stage to proselytize, she says she prefers to acknowledge the fear and pain people are living with and to create a space for communal solace. At many concerts she provides lobby tables to nonprofit organizations that work on environmental, voter-registration and humanitarian causes, giving those groups visibility without making the performance itself a political forum.

“I never proselytize on stage about my positions, politically, but I do acknowledge the suffering and cruelty and anxiety that we’re feeling,” Raitt explains. “I don’t assume that everybody in the audience is politically aligned with me, but I think we all agree there’s a lot more discord and dissension and unhappiness and stress, to put it mildly.”

Speaking with Billboard before a recent show in Detroit — where she reunited warmly with Nick of Time producer Don Was, who celebrated his 73rd birthday while rehearsing with his Pan-Detroit Ensemble — Raitt described concerts as restorative occasions rather than battlegrounds.

“We’re all suffering, I think,” she says. “Aside from announcing which grassroots groups have a table in the front lobby — it’s clear I like to support the environmental and voter-registration and humanitarian efforts — I keep it pretty general. It’s uplifting for the audience and for me to come together and celebrate our shared musical heritage and affection for one another. I can’t think of a better place to be during these difficult times.”

Raitt says she sometimes introduces Oliver Mtukudzi’s spiritual “Hear Me Lord” by acknowledging the audience’s anxieties and inviting everyone to lean on one another for comfort. She added that receiving the Kennedy Center Honor when she did felt particularly fortuitous given the political climate.

“The chances of me and the Grateful Dead getting honored with this current situation would’ve been impossible, so I’m really glad,” she noted. “Not only was it a wonderful event, it was timely.”

Raitt’s current North American leg is winding down and is scheduled to conclude on September 24 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. After that she plans to take an extended, intentional break.

“This is our fourth year of touring; we’ve been pretty steady on the road since the record came out,” she says. While breaks have sometimes been filled with benefit appearances, awards shows and documentary work — she earned three Grammys for Just Like That… including Song of the Year, and received an Icon Award at the 2022 Billboard Women in Music — Raitt is clear she needs downtime to recharge creatively.

“I’m looking forward to having more than five weeks at home for the first time in five years,” she said. “I’m not eager to jump straight into another full album cycle without rest. I always have a handful of songs I love and will record eventually, but first I want to let the dust settle and give myself space.”

Source