By Josh Bell
The Pearl at Palms 8 p.m. Feb. 22, starting at $49 plus tax and fee. 702.944.3200
Bonnie Raitt is one of only two women on Rolling Stone’s list of the greatest guitarists of all time, and she’s also appeared on the magazine’s list of the greatest singers of all time. Those are just two of the many accolades Raitt has collected over the course of her more than 40-year career (she’s also been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and won numerous Grammy Awards). Raitt’s bluesy rock style is both evocative of the era in which she first achieved success (the 1970s) and appealingly timeless.
That timelessness helped Raitt reach her greatest commercial heights in the 1990s, when her style of music was far from the flavor of the month. With her albums Nick of Time, Luck of the Draw (which has sold more than 8 million copies) and Longing in Their Hearts, Raitt racked up plenty of awards and hit the top of the Billboard album charts twice. She proved that the sound of classic rock was indeed classic, and that new music in that style could be just as vital and popular as the alternative rock of the time.
Since then, Raitt has continued to tour and record, showcasing her guitar and vocal skills. American Songwriter called her 2012 album Slipstream “her best album in years”—just another accolade in a career filled with them.
