Bonnie Raitt Returns to Stage Following Surgery

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Bonnie Raitt gave the audience in St. Paul, Minn., something to talk about on June 22. The beloved singer-songwriter returned to the stage following surgery that had required her to cancel her opening slot on the first leg of James Taylor’s 2018 tour. Her first two appearances were at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., followed by a June 23 date at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisc.

In its review, Minneapolis’ Star Tribune reported that Taylor himself introduced his opening act to the Xcel Energy Center audience, welcoming “my dear friend, my idol” to the stage.

Raitt’s 10-song set on June 22 featured several of her favorites, including “Nick of Time” and “Have a Heart,” as well as her familiar covers of songs by Talking Heads (“Burning Down the House”), INXS (“Need You Tonight”), Mose Allison (“Everybody’s Crying Mercy”) and John Prine (“Angel From Montgomery”).

At the end of Taylor’s 20-song set, Raitt returned to join her friend for his encore, which included a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and the evening’s closer, “You Can Close Your Eyes.”

Watch Taylor and Raitt sing “You Can Close Your Eyes” on June 22

Raitt announced on April 30 that due to an unexpected medical situation that required immediate attention, the 68-year-old singer-songwriter had to cancel her involvement in the first part of Taylor’s tour. The singer-songwriting pair played to sold-out crowds last summer.

Watch Raitt perform “Angel From Montgomery” on June 22

Bonnie Raitt, Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN Setlist

Unintended Consequence of Love
Need You Tonight
Everybody’s Crying Mercy
Devil Got My Woman
Something to Talk About
Angel From Montgomery
Have a Heart
Nick of Time
Burning Down the House

Encore
Thing Called Love

Watch Raitt give the St. Paul audience something to talk about

The U.S. tour, as well as nine dates overseas continues through July 23. (They’re on the bill for two of Paul Simon’s farewell performances, in Dublin and London.; see the schedule below.)

Tickets for Taylor’s 2018 tour are available here and here. (All dates are with Raitt except where noted)

Jun 30 – Columbus, OH – Scottenstein Center
Jul 01 – Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center
Jul 03 – Lenox, MA – Tanglewood (An Evening with James Taylor & His All-Star Band)
Jul 04 – Lenox, MA – Tanglewood (An Evening with James Taylor & His All-Star Band)
Jul 09 – Manchester, U.K. – Manchester Arena
Jul 10 – Glasgow, U.K. – SSE Hydro Arena
Jul 12 – Leeds, U.K. – First Direct Arena
Jul 13 – Dublin, Ireland – RDS Arena (with Paul Simon)
Jul 15 – London, England – Hyde Park (with Paul Simon)
Jul 17 – Cardiff, Wales, U.K. – Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
Jul 20 – Lucca, Italy – Lucca Piazza Napoleone
Jul 22 – Pompei, Italy – Anfiteatro Scavi
Jul 23 – Rome, Italy – Roma Terme di Caracalla
Jul 26 – Washington, DC – Nationals Park (with Eagles)
Jul 28 – Philadelphia, PA – Citizens Bank Park (with Eagles)

Raitt’s Facebook page posted the following on April 30:

“We are extremely sorry to announce that Bonnie Raitt will need to miss the first leg of her tour with James Taylor due to a medical situation. Following her annual physical, it was determined she needs to schedule some surgery soon. The prognosis is good and a full recovery is expected.” The nature of the diagnosis was not revealed.