Bonnie Raitt at Red Rocks

I traveled to my favorite outdoor music venue, Red Rocks, in Morrison, Colorado recently to see Bonnie Raitt perform with various band members, many of whom have been with her two decades or more.   Wow, she was fantastic.  Mesmerizing, as one of my fellow concert goers noted.  She has a fantastic voice, a great band, and she played a nice mixture of songs from her present album (one of which I liked) to her past work (which I loved).

I hadn't seen her perform since 1978, even though I like her music very much. The coffee house that I worked at and eventually managed in college, called 'Big Mother' (who knew that I would later becomes an amply proportioned mother myself), had a modest sized record collection, and my favorite of them all was Bonnie Raitt's 'Green Light'. That was my introduction to her music, and she was impressive on it. She had a great voice then as well, and she was (and still is) one of the few women who front a band who plays guitar.

Nothing has changed.  Her stage presence is impressive, and she dedicated several songs throughout the evening to various members of the audience, which made her seem like a nice person as well.  At least she is generous.  The setting was equally spectacular.  We had a long and winding journey up to the venue--plenty of time to contemplate the gorgeous vistas along the way, while my engineer-to-be son described the geology of what we were taking in.  The amphitheater is quite a hike up a hill (from a parking area we felt very fortunate to be able to find our way back to), but it is well worth the effort.  Red rocks form the sides and front of the venue, and it was a gorgeous night with an almost full moon.  Such a treat to hear wonderful music in such a spectacular setting.  Everyone should go there at least once!