Bonnie Raitt is the Fairy Godmother of songwriters, turning dreams into reality one song at a time. And last Saturday night at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium—where a city of hopeful and accomplished tunesmiths filled the pews of the Mother Church—her magical powers were on full display.

A week into the tour for her flawless new release, Slipstream, Bonnie brought it home to the people she has championed for over 40 years and 19 albums—all the songwriters she claims changed her life. But any writer will tell you the other side of that equation: When Bonnie chooses one of their songs it’s an unequaled validation of their work, and the trajectory of their life is forever changed.

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“He’s had one of the most perfect lives of anybody I know.”

That was filmmaker Jim Brown’s response when asked why he profiled Pete Seeger in a PBS “American Masters” documentary. Few would disagree with Brown’s assessment. In a career that’s spanned over 70 years, the 93-year-old Seeger has embodied the idealism that once defined the American spirit. A tireless crusader for social justice, world harmony and environmental causes, Seeger was even called, at the height of his activism, “America’s tuning fork.”

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It absorbs you for the first few minutes you see him. Framed by a thick shock of long red hair and a thatch of beard, Willie Nelson’s face is that of a lifelong storyteller. More specifically, it’s the face of a life lived long … and hard. It is weathered, tracked with troubles and adventures (more often than not the same thing), hits and misses, triumphs and, well, leaner times. It’s not something he cares much to call attention to, and I beg forgiveness in advance. But, from the early days when he sold the tune “Family Bible” for 50 bucks, through the Outlaw years with Waylon and Tompall Glaser, to today’s ongoing road exploits, golf stories and records—he’s worn it well.

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