Acclaimed American singer songwriter and internationally touring Karla Bonoff has worked with some of the biggest names in music over her 40 year career. On Friday, June 12 she arrives in Boothbay Harbor to perform at the historic Opera House. Audience members can anticipate a night of both intimate and familiar songs and stories from her years on the road. She will be in on stage with her longtime “band” - guitarist Nina Gerber.

Early in her career, Jackson Browne took Bonoff under his wing and helped the struggling singer-songwriter gain national attention while on tour with him. Perhaps of even greater importance during her meteoric rise within the world of Los Angeles singer-songwriters in the 1970s was her catalog of songwriting for Linda Ronstadt. Over the years the Ronstadt/Bonoff connection grew, with Bonoff penning a number of Ronstadt’s biggest hits including “Someone to Lay Down Beside Me” and a number of songs from Ronstadt’s album “Hasten Down the Wind.”

Of her early years, Bonoff remembers singers like Jackson Browne, Raitt and The Eagles, performing at the now-historic Los Angeles Troubadour Monday open mic nights. In the 70s so much was rounding into form, including the music business. “Looking back,” Bonoff says, “I realize how amazing it was. But at the time, it just seemed like our life.”

Says reviewer Josef Woodard, “...Bonoff’s songs, tend to be less cut from ‘the confessional cloth’ of songwriting than a more general, broadly poetic angle. A Karla Bonoff show can seem like a this-is-your-life narrative, replete with anecdotes from her 40-plus years and landscape in the song world and provocative tales from the road and the strange, elusive, muse-chasing existence of a songwriter.”

She has released several solo albums in addition to writing major hits for not only Ronstadt, but also for Bonnie Raitt, Wynonna Judd, Trisha Yearwood and others.

Advance discounted tickets are $35 and on sale now directly from the box office at 86 Townsend Ave. or by calling 207-633-5159. The box office is open Wednesday - Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Regular tickets are $40 and available at https://boothbayoperahouse.com and on the day of the show.

The doors for seating open at 7 p.m. and Karla Bonoff and Nina Gerber go on stage at 7:30. The upstairs bar will open at 6:30 for ticket holders.