Bonnie Raitt

Raitt Launches Yearlong Tour

Nine-time Grammy winner Bonnie Raitt will launch a yearlong world tour on October 5, 2005 in support of her upcoming album, Souls Alike, which will be released on September 13, 2005.

While Souls Alike is Raitt's eighteenth album, it has the spirit and excitement of a newcomer. It's the first album of her career to bear the credit "Produced by Bonnie Raitt," and many of the eleven songs are from relatively unknown songwriters. "A lot of my life's eureka moments came when I heard people like John Prine, Fred McDowell, or Paul Brady," she says. "And now I've found a new crop of songwriters that I connect with just as deeply."

Augmented by the inspired contributions of co-producer/engineer Tchad Blake and her longtime touring band, Raitt pushes herself in some surprising new directions on Souls Alike, and deals with what she describes as "thorny, adult themes."

The Memphis-flavored "I Will Not Be Broken" (the album's lead single, which impacts radio on August 9th) was written by Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick, and Tommy Sims, the team behind Raitt's hit single "I Can't Help You Now" (from 2002's Silver Lining) and Eric Clapton's "Change The World." Other songwriters who contributed to the album include Maia Sharp and David Batteau, John Capek and Marc Jordan, and Randall Bramblett and Davis Causey.

Joining Raitt on tour will be her tight-knit band: Hutch Hutchinson on bass, who has been with Raitt for over 20 years, drummer Ricky Fataar (Beach Boys, The Rutles), who's been playing on and off with Raitt since 1982, George Marinelli (Bruce Hornsby and the Range) who's been playing on and off with Raitt since 1993 on guitar and keyboardist Jon Cleary (Eric Clapton, Taj Mahal and D'Angelo), whose own New Orleans based band, the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, have toured in support of Raitt in both the US and internationally. Marinelli and Cleary both contributed songs to Souls Alike.

"These guys are incredibly gifted in their own right," Raitt says. "but over the last few years, we've grown into something much more than the sum of our parts. We got into something deep on my last album, Silver Lining, and I'm just knocked out by their ability to stretch and morph into whatever style I want to delve into."

With the Souls Alike tour, Raitt will continue the Green Highway eco-partnership she began on the Silver Lining tour, promoting BioDiesel fuel, the environment, and alternative energy solutions along the way (see www.greenhighway.net). Dates for the Fall 2005 North American leg of the tour are listed below. Musictoday is running a ticketing pre-sale for most of the tour dates, and there are also premium seats being auctioned for charity by charityfolks.com. Check www.bonnieraitt.com for more details, and go to Amazon.com to pre-order the new album, Souls Alike.

BONNIE RAITT - SOULS ALIKE TOUR -
FALL 2005 NORTH AMERICAN LEG

DAY/DATE CITY VENUE ON-SALE DATE

WED 10/05 Tulsa, OK Brady Theater July 30th

THU 10/06 Kansas City, MO Midland Theatre August 6th

SAT 10/08 St. Louis, MO The Pageant July 29th

SUN 10/09 Springfield, MO Juanita Hammons Hall July 27th

TUE 10/11 Ann Arbor, MI Michigan Theater August 13th

WED 10/12 Cleveland, OH Playhouse Square Center July 29th

THU 10/13 Buffalo, NY University of Buffalo- July 29th

Center for the Arts

SAT 10/15 Pittsburgh, PA Benedum Center for the July 29th

Performing Arts

SUN 10/16 Verona, NY Turning Stone Casino Resort July 29th

TUE 10/18 Albany, NY The Palace Theatre August 13th

WED 10/19 Burlington, VT Memorial Auditorium August 6th

THU 10/20 Portland, ME Merrill Auditorium August 6th

SUN 10/23 Boston, MA The Orpheum Theater August 6th

WED 11/02 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom July 30th

THU 11/03 Green Bay, WI Univ. of WI - Weidner Center August 6th

FRI 11/04 Chicago, IL Chicago Theater August 6th

SUN 11/06 Minneapolis, MN Northrop Auditorium September 19th

MON 11/07 Omaha, NE Orpheum Theater September 19th

TUE 11/08 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium August 6th

FRI 11/11 Portland, OR Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall August 12th

SAT 11/12 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre August 12th

MON 11/14 Eugene, OR Hult Center- August 12th

Silva Concert Hall

TUE 11/15 Arcata, CA Van Duzer Theatre July 29th

WED 11/16 Oakland, CA Paramount Theatre September 18th

FRI 11/18 San Francisco, CA The Warfield TBA

SAT 11/19 Thousand Oaks, CA Thousand Oaks June 17th

Civic Arts Plaza

MON 11/21 Los Angeles, CA Wiltern Theatre September 18th

TUE 11/22 Costa Mesa, CA Orange County PAC August 21st

MON 11/28 New Brunswick, NJ State Theatre September 23

WED 11/30 New York, NY Beacon Theater TBA

SAT 12/03 Philadelphia, PA Tower Theatre TBA

TUE 12/06 Washington, DC DAR Constitution Hall TBA

WED 12/07 Chapel Hill, NC Memorial Hall @ Univ. of NC TBA

THU 12/08 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium TBA

SAT 12/10 Knoxville, TN Tennessee Theatre TBA

SUN 12/11 Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle TBA

FRI 12/16 Mashantucket, CT Foxwoods Resort Casino TBA

SAT 12/17 Wilmington, DE The Grand Opera House TBA

MORE TOUR DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED FOR FEBRUARY 2006