‘We’re All Suffering’: Why Bonnie Raitt Keeps Politics Out of Her Shows

Bonnie Raitt‘s political and social leanings are no secret, and she’s certainly rankled by what’s transpired during the first nearly nine months of the current administration in Washington, D.C.

But as the 15-time Grammy Award winner and 2024 Kennedy Center Honoree continues touring to support her 2022 album Just Like That…, Raitt says she’s doing her best to make her concerts something of an antithesis to the turmoil.

“I never proselytize on stage about my positions, politically, but I do acknowledge the suffering and cruelty and anxiety that we’re feeling,” says Raitt, who routinely contributes lobby space at her concerts to non-profits involved in social and environmental causes.

“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.”

Raitt spoke with Billboard ahead of a recent Detroit concert, where she had a warm reunion with Nick of Time producer Don Was, in town rehearsing with his Pan-Detroit Ensemble, on his 73rd birthday.

“We’re all suffering, I think,” she continues. “But 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 kind of efforts — I keep it pretty general.

“And it’s a great uplift for the audience, and for me, in tricky and very stressful, anxious and upsetting times to have this time to come together and celebrate our great history in these songs, and these songwriters and our affection for each other. I can’t think of a better place to be during these difficult times.”

The topic does come up during points of the show, Raitt allowed. She generally precedes Oliver Mtukudzi’s spiritual “Hear Me Lord,” which she recorded for 2002’s Silver Lining by “saying I know we’re all feeling a lot of anxiety,. and some of us are more depressed than others, but let’s just sort of all on…we need all the help we can get.’ And that’s just very uplifting.” Raitt does acknowledge, however, that it’s probably a good thing she received the Kennedy Center Honor when she did.

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

Raitt is currently winding down her latest North American tour, which wraps Sept. 24 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. On tap after that, she said, “I don’t have plans for anything other than a serious break.”

“This is our fourth year of touring; we’ve been pretty steady on the road since the record came out,” she says. And breaks have been used to appear at benefit concerts and appearing at awards shows — with three Grammys for Just Like That…, including song of the year, and an Icon Award at the 2022 Billboard Women In Music Awards. She’s also filmed appearances for a number of documentaries about “at least nine people I really love.”

“I’m glad I got to know them, and to be able to talk about them from having known them for 40 or 50 years, and what their music means to me,” Raitt says. “I’m happy to be an elder that’s been around and do that, but it really cuts into the time thinking about my own new music. Other requests can be overwhelming, to put it mildly.”

Raitt says she’s looking forward to “having more than five weeks at home for the first time in five years,” and she won’t hazard a guess about when she’ll start approaching a follow-up to Just Like That… “I’m not that motivated to suit up for a whole new album and promotion cycle because I haven’t had a break,” Raitt explains. “We don’t usually do four years of touring like we have on this (album). I don’t know how people write whole new albums while they’re out there. I can’t…so I’m trying to leave time free so that my own project and my own downtime can be fit in. I always have a little bit of a stash of songs I love so much that I’ll have to (record) them.

“So I’ll have to get in the studio — but not before there’s been some time off.”