What's Doing with Joe Bonamassa
by Kevin Wierzbicki
What's doing with Joe Bonamassa? What isn't! The popular blues rocker has a brand new live CD/DVD release out, two blues cruises in the works and a full slate of tour dates throughout 2023. Let's check it out!
Joe Bonamassa - Tales of Time
Here's a live celebration of Joe's
Time Clocks release that features the playing of most of the songs on that album, albeit in a slightly different order than found on the studio release. Recorded during Bonamassa's two-night run at the vaunted Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado in August of 2022, Tales of Time is presented here as an audio recording on CD and a stunning concert film on DVD. The film is perfectly edited, with interesting
Time Clocks-related graphics projected on a screen behind the stage and shots of the beautiful amphitheater interspersed with the band action, which of course includes plenty of close-ups of Bonamassa's fretwork. Highlights include opening cut "Notches," a cut about life experiences that features the line "Miles under my wheels" and very appropriate for the Time Clocks theme, a take on "Curtain Call" that has Middle Eastern flavoring and a hint of Led Zeppelin, the R&B of "Known Unknowns" and of course "Time Clocks" where Joe coaxes sweet Southern rock-leaning notes out of his Telecaster. Bonamassa plays a different guitar on every cut, switching from the Telecaster to a Stratocaster and others, including a Gibson Flying V on "Questions and Answers." And of course he plays them all spectacularly. A few non-
Time Clocks cuts appear in the film portion of
Tales of Time (some are found on the CD too, but fewer) including "Evil Mama," "Mountain Time" and "Just 'Cos You Can Don't Mean You Should." Joe's band here features longtime members Reese Wynans on keyboards and backup singers/percussionists Jade MacRae, Mahalia Barnes and Dannielle DeAndrea along with new additions Lemar Carter on drums, Calvin Turner on bass and Josh Smith on guitar.
Tales of Time makes for a stellar addition to the collection of any Bonamassa fan. Also available in a CD/Blu-ray package.
Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean III
It's just a few month now until Joe sets sail on his third Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea cruise in the Mediterranean. Set to take place August 17-23, 2023 aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line ship Jade, KTBA Med III will sail from Athens, Greece to the intriguing Greek island of Santorini and Dubrovnik, Croatia. Joining Joe on the cruise will be a fantastic lineup that includes Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Blackberry Smoke, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Ruthie Foster, King King, Jimmy Vivino, Laura Cox, Kirk Fletcher, Dewolff, Vanessa Collier, Thorbjorn Risager & The Black Tornado, Johnny A, Cardinal Black, Bywater Call, When Rivers Meet, Eddie 9V, Dom Martin, The Cinelli Brothers, Alice Armstrong and True Strays. Joe has announced that there will not be a Mediterranean sailing in 2024 so fans are advised to get in on this sailing if they want to rock the blues with Joe in Europe. To book a cabin go
here.
Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea IX
Joe's KTBA cruises have gotten so popular that this cruise, with a sailing date of March 18-22, 2024, is already sold out. But all is not lost Bonamassa fans; you can join the waiting list for this event and since it is still 10 months away you can rest assured that plenty of folks will have to drop out between now and then. The cruise sails from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line ship Pearl and will feature the usual two shows from Joe along with performances by The Marshall Tucker Band, Grace Potter, Black Country Communion, John Oates, Jimmy Vivino, King King, Jackie Venson, Brandon "Taz" Niederauer, Daddy Long Legs, Jack Barksdale and many others (the lineup is not fully fleshed-out yet.)
To join the waiting list go
here.
Joe on Tour
Bonamassa will be on the road for the better part of the year. He has three late May shows in the American Northwest then he'll be on tour in Europe for most of July. Back in the US for a summer jaunt, Bonamassa will appear in August once again at Red Rocks, play a special show at the Hollywood Bowl with an orchestra, and headline shows in Bethel and Long Island, New York where the support acts will be Styx and Don Felder of Eagles fame. After appearing at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival 2023 in Los Angeles on Sept. 23, Bonamassa will launch his fall tour in Memphis on Oct. 23 and be on the road through early December. To see all of Joe's upcoming concert dates go
here.
