15 February 2017 WE’VE GOT SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT… BONNIE RAITT COMES TO QPAC FOR HER DIG IN DEEP TOUR SUPPORTED BY THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS Ten-time Grammy® Award Winner Bonnie Raitt, will make her debut performance at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s (QPAC’s) Concert Hall as part of her Dig In Deep Tour for one-night only on Wednesday 12 April 2017. More than a best-selling artist, respected guitarist, expressive singer and accomplished songwriter, Bonnie Raitt has become an institution in American Music. This QPAC concert offers Queensland audiences the first chance to see the acclaimed artist since she supported Bob Dylan in Brisbane in 1992. Dig In Deep (2016) is Raitt’s twentieth and latest album and follows the release of her top-selling and 2012 Grammy® Award-winning album, Slipstream. On tour, Raitt will be joined by her long time touring band: James ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson (bass), Ricky Fataar (drums), George Marinelli (guitar), and Mick Finnigan (keyboards). Since the release of Slipstream, Raitt has performed over 200 shows in the United States and abroad, including a sold-out concert at Boston's Fenway Park with James Taylor. Her powerful chemistry with this band creates a magic that has been described as "exquisite" (Chicago Tribune) and "perfect" (Boston Globe). "I'm feeling pretty charged, and the band and I are at the top of our game," says Bonnie Raitt. "This period of my life is more exciting and vital than I was expecting, and for that I'm really grateful. At this point, I have a lot less to prove and hey, if you're not going to 'Dig In Deep' now, what's the point?" In the late '60s, Raitt moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where she majored in Social Relations and African Studies at Harvard/Radcliffe. Raitt was already deeply involved with folk music and the blues at that time. Exposure to the album 'Blues at Newport 1963' at age 14 had kindled her interest in blues and slide guitar, and between classes at Harvard she explored these and other styles in local coffeehouse gigs. Three years after entering college, Bonnie left to commit herself full-time to music, and shortly afterward found herself opening for surviving giants of the blues, including Mississippi Fred McDowell, Sippie Wallace, Son House, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker. She released her self-titled debut album, Bonnie Raitt, in 1971 after being signed by Warner Bros. for her soulful, unaffected way of singing and uncanny insights into blues guitar. Her Nick of Time album (1989) earned the songstress three Grammy® Awards in 1990, and she won another award for a duet with fellow American singer John Lee Hooker. The album rose all the way to the top of the charts, selling four million copies. In 1991, Raitt and producer Don Was struck platinum again with Luck of the Draw, winning more Grammy Awards and critical accolades. Her hit singles on this album “Something to Talk About" and "I Can't Make You Love Me" sold more than eight million copies in the United States. Cont… …2 Throughout her career, Raitt has consistently used her influence to affect the way music is perceived and appreciated in the world, with the release of Dig In Deep allowing her to continually personify what it means to stay creative, adventurous, and daring. Audiences are set to marvel at the delicate balance of consistency and risk- taking that has defined Bonnie’s remarkable career for more than 45 years. Opening for Raitt for her QPAC concert will be The California Honeydrops, a five- piece ensemble which doesn’t just play music, they throw parties. Led by dynamic vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Lech Wierzynski, and drawing on diverse musical influences from Bay Area R&B, funk, Southern soul, Delta blues, and New Orleans second-line, the California Honeydrops are renowned for bringing vibrant energy and infectious dance-party vibes to their shows. The California Honeydrops have taken their party all over the world: on nine European tours, featured slots at premiere festivals such as Monterey Jazz, High Sierra, and Outside Lands, and recent performances supporting B.B. King, Dr. John, Buddy Guy, and Allen Toussaint. This concert is a not-to-be-missed experience as Bonnie Raitt supported by The California Honeydrops take on the acclaimed acoustics of QPAC’s Concert Hall on Wednesday 12 April 2017. To book go to qpac.com.au or phone 136 246. -ENDS- But that voice still has its gale-force power, and onstage its owner still had that signature, self-possessed strut and that winding, snaking bottleneck-slide sound that is like no other player’s. Boston Globe Full of blues-rock swagger ... Dig In Deep is her most personal record in years. Rolling Stone Well known as one of the greatest slide guitarists of all time, Raitt did not disappoint. Her playing was brilliant — smooth and slinky to gritty and dirty. Oakland Press But they roared with applause and shouts, gave at least three standing ovations and generally celebrated what was flawless and rocking performance by one of the music industry’s most beloved elder stateswomen. SFist https://www.facebook.com/officialbonnieraitt/ http://www.bonnieraitt.com/ https://twitter.com/TheBonnieRaitt QPAC and Bluesfest touring present: Bonnie Raitt Dig in Deep Tour WHEN: Wednesday 12 April 2017, 8.00pm WHERE: Concert Hall, QPAC, Cultural Precinct, South Bank, Brisbane TICKETS: Refer to qpac.com.au for current pricing BOOKINGS: qpac.com.au or 136 246 For images/bios please click here (Photo credit California Honey Drops - Keither Berson. Image caption from left: Johnny Bones, Beau Bradbury, Lech Wierzynski, Lorenzo Loera, Ben Malament. Full bio Bonnie Raitt http://www.bonnieraitt.com/bio For further information, images or interviews please contact: Cindy Ullrich, Publicity Manager QPAC ph (07) 3840 7589, mobile 0434 366 038 or [email protected] .