KINGPIN of the BLUES

JOE BONAMASSA RETURNS WITH TIME CLOCKS, HIS STRONGEST AND MOST DIVERSE ALBUM TO DATE — AND ALSO DISCUSSES HIS NEWFOUND ROLE AS 2021’S FOREMOST BLUES/ROCK IMPRESARIO

- ANDY ALEDORT

“WHO DOESN’T LOVE A GOOD OLD-FASHIONED GUITAR BATTLE?

”Joe Bonamassa, calling in from “Nerdville,” his home in Nashville, is referring to the guitar duel that took place between Eric Gales and himself in August 2019 during his annual Keeping the Blues Alive cruise in the Mediterranean. This epic throwdown between two of today’s primary blues/rock virtuosos has garnered well over 3 million views on YouTube; if you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and check it out. It’s a miracle their guitars didn’t spontaneously combust into flames.

“That was so much fun,” Bonamassa says. “Everyone wanted to see Eric and me go at it in a friendly way. And it has to be just like that: it’s not a ‘competition’; it’s about spurring each other on in a playful, ‘Can you top this?’ way. It’s really fun for us, and I think it’s fun for the audience to see each of us trying to ‘outdo’ one another, raising the bar as we go.”

Bonamassa has just released Time Clocks, his 15th solo album, on his own J&R Adventures label. Eleven of these albums have reached Number 1 on the Billboard blues charts. About the new record, Bonamassa says, “What started out with the intention of being a trio record turned into probably my most adventurous and involved record.”