Background and career
Joseph Leonard Bonamassa ( BAH-nə-MAH-sə; born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B. B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released seventeen solo studio albums via his independent record label J&R Adventures. As of his latest studio album, Breakthrough (2025), he holds the record for most No. 1 blues albums with 29 (a total of 30 including the collaborative B.B. King's Blues Summit 100 in 2026). Bonamassa has played alongside many notable blues and rock artists, and has received five nominations for Grammy Awards. Among guitarists, he is known for his extensive collection of vintage guitars and amplifiers.
In 2011, Bonamassa started the nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation. In 2020, he created Keeping the Blues Alive Records, an independent record label that promotes and supports the talent of blues musicians. Notable artists include Dion, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Joanna Connor, and Larry McCray. Bonamassa produces and collaborates on many of the projects.
Bonamassa was born in New Hartford, New York, and grew up in Utica, New York. He is of Italian descent. He started playing guitar at age four, encouraged by his father, who was an avid music fan and exposed him to British blues rock records by Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, greatly inspiring him. At eleven years old, Bonamassa was mentored and trained by American guitarist Danny Gatton. When he was twelve years old, he had his own band called Smokin' Joe Bonamassa, which gigged around western New York and Pennsylvania, including cities such as Scranton and Buffalo, only on weekends since he had school on weekdays. Bonamassa played a crimson 1972 Fender Stratocaster he called "Rosie", given to him by his father. Bonamassa opened for B.B. King at approximately twenty shows in 1989. Before he reached eighteen years old, Bonamassa was playing in a band called Bloodline with the sons of Miles Davis, Robby Krieger and Berry Oakley. Although Bloodline did not become a famous act, it attracted some attention to Bonamassa's guitar ability.
Bonamassa's debut studio album, A New Day Yesterday, was released in 2000. It features original tunes and covers of artists such as Rory Gallagher, Jethro Tull and Warren Haynes. The album features a guest appearance by Gregg Allman on the song "If Heartaches Were Nickels", and was produced by Tom Dowd. The album reached No. 9 on the Billboard Blues chart. Between 2002 and 2006, Bonamassa had three studio albums hit No. 1 on the Billboard Blues charts, and all five of his solo studio albums made the Top 10. In 2009, Bonamassa fulfilled one of his childhood dreams by playing at the Royal Albert Hall in London, where Eric Clapton played a duet with him. Bonamassa's live album, Beacon Theatre: Live from New York, was released in 2012. The show featured one of Bonamassa's musical heroes, Paul Rodgers (formerly of the bands Free and Bad Company), as a guest. The live acoustic album, An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House, was released as a CD/DVD/Blu-ray set on March 26, 2013. This concert marked the first time Bonamassa played a wholly acoustic show. The acoustic ensemble that performed the show was assembled with the help of Bonamassa's longtime producer, Kevin Shirley. The concluding, three-night stand of Bonamassa's spring 2013 tour, occurred at the famous Beacon Theatre in New York City. In March 2013, Bonamassa performed four shows in London featuring three different bands (and a horn section at one show), covering four different sides of his music. Each show had a unique set list. The shows were recorded for a DVD release, and the set of DVDs was released in October 2013 as Tour de Force.
Bonamassa's album Different Shades of Blue is his first solo studio album since So, It's Like That to showcase only original songs (with the exception of a brief instrumental Jimi Hendrix cover). Bonamassa wrote the album in Nashville with three songwriters: Jonathan Cain of Journey, James House (known for his work with Diamond Rio), Dwight Yoakam, Martina McBride and Jerry Flowers (who has written for Keith Urban). Bonamassa sought to create serious blues rock in the project, instead of three-minute radio hits. The album was recorded at a music studio in the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. The album charted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, No. 1 on the blues chart, and No. 1 on the indie chart. In May 2015, Bonamassa won a Blues Music Award in the Instrumentalist – Guitar category. In April 2018, Bonamassa's signature amplifier, the '59 Twin-Amp JB Edition, was released by Fender. On June 27, 2018, Bonamassa premiered at the Grand Ole Opry. He made a guest appearance after being introduced by Chase Bryant, and playing along with him in his final song of the set, "I Need a Cold Beer".
In October 2020, Bonamassa released the No. 1 blues album Royal Tea. On June 11, 2021, the live album and film Now Serving: Royal Tea Live from the Ryman was released. It was from his one-night-only concert, at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 20, 2020. The show was live-streamed at the time, and raised $32,000 for Bonamassa's Fueling Musicians program, which had been helping financially struggling musicians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
