In the summer of 1970, she played with her brother David on stand-up bass with Mississippi Fred McDowell at the Philly Folk Festival as well as opening for John Hammond at the Gaslight Cafe in New York, she was seen by a reporter from "Newsweek", who began to spread the word about her performance. Scouts from major record companies were soon attending her shows to watch her play. She eventually accepted an offer from Warner Bros., who soon released her debut album, "Bonnie Raitt", in 1971. The album was warmly received by the music press, with many writers praising her skills as an interpreter and as a bottleneck guitarist; at the time, few women in popular music had strong reputations as guitarists.