Home > > WXPN's Free At Noon: Joe Bonamassa

• Tweet
• Outlook
• ICAL
• PRINT
• Email
• Feedback

• RSS

• Official Website
• Buy Tickets

WXPN's Free At Noon: Joe Bonamassa

Presented by WXPN at World Cafe Live - Philadelphia

August 14, 2009

Comment on Facebook

Widely regarded as one of the best active guitarists in the world, Joe Bonamassa has been electrifying audiences for years. With his latest release, The Ballad of John Henry, Bonamassa brings his signature incendiary guitar work together with his most reflective lyrics to date. The result is a sonically and emotionally powerful blues album.

Bonamassa was something of a child prodigy. Learning guitar early on, he caught the ear of blues legend BB King, and was opening for him by age twelve. Although born and raised in the States, Bonamassa found his biggest influences in the work of the European blues masters. Bonamassa brings these influences together with the old masters like King and Buddy Guy, while still adding his own personal touch. His virtuosity has earned him praise from both fans and peers. Though only 32, he is widely regarded as one of the best living guitarists.

The result is an impressive output. Bonamassa has released nine albums over the course of his career, two of which reached the top spot on the Billboard Blues Album charts.

While Bonamassa's roots are heavily planted in the blues, he isn't afraid to cross genres. The album's title track rocks like vintage Led Zeppelin, while "Happier Times" grooves while drenched in melancholy.

Ballad finds Bonamassa running through the gamut of emotions. With topics like the highs and lows of love and the changing world, Ballad is the virtuoso's most personal work to date. He confronts them with frank honest and scorching firepower, creating perhaps his most memorable album.