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Posted on Tue, Feb 7, 2012 : 9 a.m.

Bonnie Raitt to play Hill Auditorium in May

By Bob Needham

Bonnie-Raitt.jpg

Bonnie Raitt

photo by Matt Mindlin

The great blues-rocker Bonnie Raitt will play Hill Auditorium on May 25 in a pre-season concert presented by the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, according to an announcement today. Tickets go on sale April 9.

The singer, guitarist and songwriter plans to tour in support of a new album, "Slipstream," scheduled for release April 10.

Tickets range from $35.50 to $65.50 and go on sale to the public on Monday, April 9 at 9 a.m. through the Festival Ticket Office at 734-764-2538 or online at A2SF.org.

According to the announcement, 50 cents of each ticket sold for the concert will be donated to the ARIA Foundation, which will distribute grants to local charities at the end of the tour.

Initially primarily a blues performer, Raitt released her first album in 1971. Throughout the '70s and '80s, she released a series of acclaimed albums and kept a high profile as a social activist as well.

In 1990 she had an unexpected commercial breakthrough with "Nick of Time," a more pop-rock release that went to No. 1 on the sales charts and won three Grammy Awards. She followed that up the next year with an even bigger seller, "Luck of the Draw," which spawned the memorable hit single "Something to Talk About" and won three more Grammys. She has released several more well-regarded albums in the years since and now counts nine Grammys to her credit.

Singer-songwriter Marc Cohn will open the show. Best known for his hit "Walking in Memphis," Cohn has a new album, "Listening Booth: 1970," which reinterprets pop hits from that pivotal year. Last summer he played a sold-out date at The Ark.

Bob Needham is director of entertainment content for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at bobneedham@annarbor.com or 734-623-2541, and follow him on Twitter @bobneedham.

Comments

kittybkahn

Tue, Feb 7, 2012 : 7:59 p.m.

yohan: The sound problems at the Folk Festival were not the fault of the Ark. The performers brought their own sound techs and insisted on using them. Sound at the Ark is always great!

Edward R Murrow's Ghost

Tue, Feb 7, 2012 : 3:59 p.m.

Most Excellent! Good Night and Good Luck

yohan

Tue, Feb 7, 2012 : 3:41 p.m.

Let's hope they use a different sound company than the Ark used for the folk fest.