The day before his eleventh birthday, guitar prodigy Joe Bonamassa opened-up for the “King of the Blues”, B.B. King. 35 years later, Bonamassa is carrying the torch and is now the most successful blues artist in the world. 27 of his albums have gone to #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart (the most ever). He sells out large venues and has legions of fans. Bonamassa’s longtime drummer Anton Fig calls what they do “arena blues.” He has his own record company and vertical business platform, where he controls album and ticket sales, merchandise, booking, social media, and more, for himself and other artists. The upstate New York native has a preternatural ability on guitar and seems just as comfortable playing a hundred-year-old acoustic blues number as he does fronting a 40-piece orchestra, which he does on the outstanding new album/DVD Live at the Hollywood Bowl with Orchestra, which will be released on June 21.
Additionally, his fifth album with rock supergroup side-project Black Country Communion will be released June 14. His Keeping The Blues Alive foundation funds music education projects, grants, and scholarships for students, in addition to providing direct monetary assistance to struggling musicians.
Following a marquee slot at JazzFest in New Orleans and opening for the Rolling Stones in Seattle this month, Bonamassa will trek across country with the back-to-basics Blues Deluxe Tour, paying homage to the “Three Kings” (B.B., Albert, and Freddie) along with material of other blues legends and his own catalog. The tour will reach Port Chester, NY on August 23 and 24.
Joe Bonamassa “Ball Peen Hammer” from Live at the Hollywood Bowl with Orchestra:
Joe Bonamassa with Eric Clapton “Further On Up The Road”:
Joe Bonamassa “I’ll Play The Blues For You” (Live):
Joe Bonamassa “Sloe Gin” (Live):
