“If I was only doing blues, we wouldn’t be sitting here. The mix of what I do is what makes it stand out”: Bonnie Raitt on why pushing beyond the blues was key to her success – that, and making her guitar “sound like bacon smells”

Bonnie Raitt performs onstage at the 2023 Annual Americana Honors & Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 20, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Genre-spanning singer, guitarist, and songwriter Bonnie Raitt has helmed a formidable rock, folk, and blues career. Not bad for someone who started noodling on a $25 guitar from Sears at the tender age of 8 and claims music was “just a hobby and a passion of mine” and “never expected it to be my life.”

One of Raitt's key trump cards is her fluency in various genres. Not only that, it’s also the fact that she’s never shied away from experimentation and bringing in fresh sounds.