A child prodigy, Joe Bonamassa was finessing Stevie Ray Vaughan licks when he was seven and by the time he was ten, had caught B.B. King's ear. After first hearing him play, King said, "This kid's potential is unbelievable. He hasn't even begun to scratch the surface. He's one of a kind." By age 12, Bonamassa was opening shows for the blues icon and went on to tour with venerable acts including Buddy Guy, Foreigner, Robert Cray, Stephen Stills, Joe Cocker and Gregg Allman. Bonamassa's recording career began in the early '90s with Bloodline, a rock-blues group also featuring Robby Krieger's son Waylon and Miles Davis' son Erin. In summer 2000, he guested for Roger McGuinn on Jethro Tull's tour, later releasing his debut solo album, "A New Day Yesterday". Upon returning from the road, he recorded "So, It's Like That" and released a document of the tour, A New Day Yesterday Live. The following year Bonamassa put out "Blues Deluxe", featuring nine cover versions of blues classics alongside three originals. "You & Me" appeared in 2006, followed by the more acoustic-tinged "Sloe Gin" that debuted at #1 on Billboard's Blues Chart in 2007. A year later, Bonamassa released the two-disc live album "Live from Nowhere in Particular", followed in 2009 by "The Ballad of John Henry".
The year 2009 was big for Bonamassa. He was awarded the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award at the U.K.'s prestigious Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards and was also named Best Blues Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine's 2009 Readers' Choice Awards for the third consecutive year. He also played to a sold out crowd at London's Royal Albert Hall. During the show, Bonamassa's hero, Eric Clapton, joined him on stage for a joint-performance of Clapton's hit "Further On Up The Road." Shortly after, Bonamassa released a 2-DVD live set, Joe Bonamassa – Live From The Royal Albert Hall.
On top of touring, recording and overseeing the independent label J&R Adventures with his entrepreneurial partner and manager Roy Weisman, Bonamassa is a spokesperson for the Blues Foundation's respected Blues in the Schools program, volunteering his time during tours to speak with groups of high school students about the heritage of blues music. Recently, he was chosen by Channel One, the largest in-school news network, to host an ongoing segment called "Know Your Roots with Joe Bonamassa" in which he traces the musical roots of Channel One's weekly "Hear It Now" featured artist.
Bonamassa's latest release was "Black Rock" (2009) which brought world vibes to Bonamassa's virtuoso mix of '60s-era British blues-rock (à la Beck and Clapton) and roots-influenced Delta sounds. The album features a fresh take on the Willie Nelson-penned song, "Night Life," which appeared on B.B. King's 1967 album "Blues Is King", Jeff Beck's "Spanish Boots," a lively version of Leonard Cohen's poetic "Bird On A Wire," Otis Rush's "Three Times A Fool" and Bobby Parker's "Steal Your Heart Away," among others.
Recently, Guitar World dubbed Bonamassa "The Blues Rock Titan" and his song, "Lonesome Road Blues," is a part of Guitar Hero V's New Blues Masters Track Pack.
Joe Bonamassa will be at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida on Tuesday November 22, 2011.
