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For an hour and 40 minutes on a Wednesday night in Green Bay, Bonnie\u00a0Raitt\u00a0<\/a>made the world slip away.<\/p>\n Hardly an easy lift these days given the weight of news headlines, but in the darkened comfort of The\u00a0Weidner\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0inviting Cofrin\u00a0Family Hall, with its flawless acoustics and a hushed crowd, there was a warmth, stillness and calm that you wished you could have slipped in your pocket and taken with you on your way out the door.<\/p>\n Against the backdrop of a sprawling painted canvas of a tranquil lake and setting sun that changed colors throughout the night, the 13-time Grammy Award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of\u00a0Famer\u00a0whisked away an audience to places of gratitude and back through the decades to the friendships and inspirations of such musical giants as John\u00a0Prine\u00a0and \u201clittle Bobby Dylan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time for me to sing you a John\u00a0Prine\u00a0song,\u201d she said before performing the late singer-songwriter\u2019s \u201cAngel From Montgomery.\u201d “Let\u2019s just keep John\u00a0Prine\u00a0alive forever.\u201d<\/p>\n When she sang the iconic opening lyrics she’s been singing since the 1970s \u2014 \u201cI am an old woman, named after my mother\u201d \u2014 solo with acoustic guitar in a single spotlight onstage, it was almost as if you could feel the words flutter by you as they took flight through the hall. It was a goosebumps moment that would repeat itself with a gorgeous rendition of \u201cI Can\u2019t Make You Love Me\u201d that brought the crowd to its feet during the encore. And again with \u201cJust Like That,\u201d a\u00a0heartwrenching story\u00a0song of redemption and grace about a mother meeting the recipient of her son\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n That’s the kind of night it was.<\/p>\n Raitt\u00a0and her band, who played the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee the evening before, are in their fourth year touring in support of 2022\u2019s \u201cJust Like That,” an album that added three Grammys to her stash. Many of the dates on the summer trek have been outdoors, and The\u00a0Weidner\u00a0stop,\u00a0Raitt\u2019s\u00a0first Green Bay visit since a 2018 date with James Taylor<\/a> at the\u00a0Resch\u00a0Center, had her basking in the deep attentiveness and quiet of the room.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is like church in here tonight. I\u2019m gonna change that,\u201d she said, before diving into \u201cSomething to Talk About.\u201d<\/p>\n The crowd\u00a0was\u00a0asked in advance to turn off phones to enjoy the show in present time, and photos and videos were prohibited. There wasn\u2019t a rogue lit screen to be spotted all night, not with a woman as charming and an act as respected as Raitt.<\/p>\n More: <\/strong>Lorelei Inn’s Oktoberfest turns 20 with beer, homemade tortes and the retirement of one of the party’s planners<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n More: <\/strong>‘Green and Gold’ movie hits a streaming milestone, and Culver’s celebrates by making good on its pledge<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n At 75, her voice is as strong and soulful as ever, with the blues guitar chops to match. She sounded lovely on \u201cBlame It on Me,\u201d a lush, deep cut off \u201cJust Like That\u201d she said the band hadn\u2019t done yet on tour. She played Dylan\u2019s \u201cMillion Miles\u201d on acoustic, and let \u2018er rip on\u00a0electric for a rollicking \u201cThing Called Love\u201d and a smokin’ cover\u00a0of the Talking Heads\u2019 \u201cBurning Down the House.\u201d<\/p>\n Her old pal\u00a0Jimmie\u00a0Vaughan <\/a>& The Tilt-A-Whirl Band opened the night with a tight 45-minute set.\u00a0Raitt\u00a0said she\u2019s been waiting for 40 years to tour with the Texas blues guitar master (he soloed by playing behind his head at The Weidner) who she has known since his days with The Fabulous\u00a0Thunderbirds. She brought him, along with\u00a0his\u00a0three-piece horn section, back out to trade licks on \u201cThe Pleasure\u2019s All Mine\u201d and his rockin’ \u201cBoom\u00a0Bapa\u00a0Boom” to close the show.<\/p>\n They were having such fun it made you wish for a whole other set still to come, but that would\u2019ve just been incredibly selfish on a night that already delivered so much.<\/p>\n Kendra Meinert\u00a0is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 or kmeinert@greenbay.gannett.com<\/a>. Follow her on X @KendraMeinert<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Bonnie Raitt, her fans share a delightful night in Green Bay | Review<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n