Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bonnie Raitt has been palling around with Harlem-bred bluesman Taj Mahal since the ’60s, bonding through a mutual love of roots music. But this is the pairs first tour together; they’ll be co-headlining under the name BonTaj Roulet and will donate a portion of the proceeds to a variety of charitable organizations. Mahals tunes, which fold African and Latin influences into the blues, should be a lively counterpart to Raitts sensual melodies and expressive slide guitar both will play individual sets and then come together onstage for a buoyant finale. At 59, Raitt can still belt out her sentimental ballads (I Cant Make You Love Me) and upbeat singalongs (Something to Talk About) as beautifully as shes been doing for forty years. Its like shes often told her audiences the blues never go out of style. E. THOMPSON
Sun., Sept. 6, 7 p.m., 2009
