Joe Bonamassa

A guitar prodigy who opened for B.B. King at age 12, Joe Bonamassa, born May 8, 1977 in New Hartford, New York, quickly established himself as a master guitarist and one of the leading blues musicians of his generation. He first started playing guitar at the age of four, and was soon giving renditions of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix songs. He gigged in local bars and was mentored by rockabilly hero Danny Gatton. After cutting his teeth with the band Bloodline, Bonamassa released his debut solo album 2000’s A New Day Yesterday to great acclaim. A natural successor to the likes of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Rory Gallagher, he topped the US Blues Charts seven times, thrilling with his searing renditions of the Delta Blues songbook and his own contemporary compositions. Bonamassa went on to play at the Royal Albert Hall, reaching number 2 in the UK Charts with his eleventh studio album, 2012’s Driving Towards the Daylight and performing with a host of his guitar heroes, while also playing with the supergroup Black Country Communion. In 2013 he was nominated for a Grammy Award with Beth Hart for their collaborative album SeeSaw. Although unsuccessful with the award, the album topped the Billboard Top Blues Albums Chart and led the way to his next solo offering, Different Shades of Blue, his first top ten album in the U.S. The title track went to number 2 on the Digital Blues singles chart. He was awarded a Blues Music Award in 2015, and in 2018 he made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry performing alongside Chase Bryant on his song “I Need a Cold Beer”. His 2019 Christmas album was followed in 2020 by Royal Tea.

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