Today, the 26x Billboard chart-topper Joe Bonamassa has released Blues Deluxe Vol. 2, his new studio album, out today via his own J&R Adventures. In celebration of this landmark release, which marks 20 years since his first independent album, Bonamassa has unveiled the project’s latest single "Is It Safe To Go Home,” a standout from the album, crafted by producer Josh Smith. "I wrote 'Is It Safe To Go Home' specifically for this project and for Joe,” Smith recalls. “I can't believe what he did with it. The vocal and solo are some of his best work (in fact, he hits the highest vocal note he ever has on record), and it's just an absolutely epic performance and arrangement."
Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 revisits and pays homage to Bonamassa's musical roots, offering listeners fresh takes on classic blues tracks that have shaped his journey. The album boasts two new originals and eight covers, honoring legendary names in blues, from Bobby “Blue” Bland to Albert King. Both Vol. 2 and Blues Deluxe Remastered are available on 180 Gram vinyl, with the former as a gorgeous translucent blue color for collectors.
Reflecting on his growth as a musician, Bonamassa says, “Part of my approach to these new recordings was that I wanted to see if I had matured musically over the years, and if I had gotten better as a player. I’m happy to say that I am a much better singer than I was 20 years ago - though I still don’t really consider myself to be a legit ‘singer,’ I can now carry a tune a little better than I could back then.”
Among the album's treasures is "Hope You Realize It (Goodbye Again)," another original collaboration between Bonamassa and Tom Hambridge. "This is a song that I wrote with Tom Hambridge, and we did a real Tower Of Power treatment on it," Bonamassa recalls. "Twenty-Four Hour Blues," a fiery reinterpretation of Bobby “Blue” Bland’s iconic track from the Dreamer album, boasts one of Bonamassa’s most potent vocal and guitar performances to date, while "Well, I Done Got Over It” pays tribute to Guitar Slim's 1953 release, and "Lazy Poker Blues" rejuvenates the classic song originally performed by Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac.
Featuring Reese Wynans (keys), Calvin Turner (bass), Lamar Carter (drums), Kirk Fletcher (guitar), and Josh Smith (guitar), additional highlights from Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 include “I Want To Shout About It,” originally performed by Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters and “It’s Hard But It’s Fair” by Bobby Parker. “I knew I wanted to push him really hard vocally,” Smith adds. “I'd heard him sing things just messing around or when we'd be producing for other artists that I'd never heard him do on record. So the songs were both chosen and written with that in mind. If you listen to the vocals on "Twenty-Four Hour Blues" and "Is It Safe To Go Home,” you'll hear Joe really going for it.”
Following an extensive summer run that included his debut appearance at the Hollywood Bowl, which was recorded for his next live concert film, the hardest working bluesman in show business will begin his U.S. Fall Tour on October 23rd at The Cannon Center in Memphis, TN, before crisscrossing the country and capping the year at the guitar-shaped Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, FL on December 2nd.
Bonamassa’s spring 2024 tour will include performances in historic venues like the Count Basie Center For The Arts in Red Bank, NJ on February 23rd and the Saenger Theatre in Pensacola, FL on March 7th, before culminating with the sold-out Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea IX, set for March 18-24, departing from Miami, Florida to Cozumel, Mexico. The festival line-up includes Grace Potter, The Marshall Tucker Band, John Oates, Jimmy Vivino, King King, and a special performance by Black Country Communion, Bonamassa’s supergroup with Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH), Jason Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN) and Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, ALICE COOPER, BILLY IDOL). KTBA at Sea is one of the largest fundraisers for Bonamassa’s Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, aiding in its mission to promote music education by providing grants and resources to schools and musicians in need.
Cited by Guitar World as “arguably the world’s biggest blues guitarist,” Bonamassa is known for taking risks and venturing into uncharted territory throughout his wide-ranging career. His last recent full-length Time Clocks marked his most raw, rocking studio album yet, with American Songwriter sharing, “Bonamassa pushes into fresh territory while staying within a blues-based framework,” and “there is more than enough proof in this sprawling set that Bonamassa doesn’t intend to rest on his laurels or take his star status in the blues-rock genre for granted.”
Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 by Joe Bonamassa
1. Twenty-Four Hour Blues (originally performed by Bobby “Blue” Bland)
2. It’s Hard But It’s Fair (originally performed by Bobby Parker)
3. Well, I Done Got Over It (originally performed by Guitar Slim)
4. I Want to Shout About It (originally performed by Ronnie Earle & The Broadcasters)
5. Win-O (originally performed by Pee Wee Crayton)
6. Hope You Realize It (Goodbye Again) *original song written by Joe Bonamassa & Tom Hambridge
7. Lazy Poker Blues (originally performed by Fleetwood Mac)
8. You Sure Drive a Hard Bargain (originally performed by Albert King)
9. The Truth Hurts Feat Kirk Fletcher and Josh Smith (originally performed by Kenny Neal)
10. Is It Safe To Go Home *original song written by Josh Smith
Blues Deluxe Remastered by Joe Bonamassa
1. You Upset Me Baby
2. Burning Hell
3. Blues Deluxe
4. Man Of Many Words
5. Woke Up Dreaming
6. I Don’t Live Any Where
7. Wild About You Baby
8. Long Distance Blues
9. Pack It Up
10. Left Overs
11. Walking Blues
12. Mumbling Word
Fall 2023 U.S. Tour
October 23 – Memphis, TN – The Cannon Center
October 25 – Shreveport, LA – Shreveport Municipal Auditorium
October 27 – San Antonio, TX – Majestic Theatre
October 28 – Sugar Land, TX – Smart Financial Centre At Sugar Land
October 29 – Austin, TX – ACL Live
November 1 – Fayetteville, AR – Walton Arts Center
November 3 – Little Rock, AR – Robinson Performance Hall
November 4 – Grand Prairie, TX – Texas Trust CU Theatre
November 5 – Oklahoma City, OK – Civic Center Music Hall
November 8 – Tulsa, OK – Tulsa Theater
November 10 – Kansas City, MO – The Midland Theatre
November 11 – St. Louis, MO – The Fabulous Fox
November 12 – Cedar Rapids, IA – Paramount Theatre
November 14 – Rochester, MN – Mayo Civic Center
November 15 – Rockford, IL – Coronado Performing Arts Center
November 17 – Fort Wayne, IN – Embassy Theatre
November 18 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
November 19 – Columbus, OH – Palace Theatre
November 21 – Reading, PA – The Santander Performing Arts Center
November 22 – Providence, RI – Providence Performance Arts Center
November 24 – Springfield, MA – Symphony Hall
November 25 – Baltimore, MD – The Lyric
November 28 – Savannah, GA – Johnny Mercer Theatre
November 30 – Sarasota, FL – Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
December 1 – Estero, FL – Hertz Arena
December 2 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live
Spring 2024 U.S. Tour
February 19 - Louisville, KY - The Louisville Palace
February 21 - Youngstown, OH - Covelli Centre
February 23 - Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Center For The Arts
February 24 - Oxon Hill, MD - The Theater at MGM National Harbor
February 25 - Durham, NC - DPAC
February 27 - Columbia, SC - Township Auditorium
February 29 - Virginia Beach, VA - The Sandler Center
March 1 - Roanoke, VA - Berglund Center
March 2 - Cincinnati, OH - Taft Theatre
March 4 - Richmond, VA - Altria Theater
March 5 - Knoxville, TN - Knoxville Civic Auditorium
March 7 - Pensacola, FL - Saenger Theatre
March 8 - Biloxi, MS - Beau Rivage
March 9 - Biloxi, MS - Beau Rivage
March 11 - Huntsville, AL - VBC Mark C. Smith Concert Hall
March 12 - Greenville, SC - Peace Center
March 14 - Macon, GA - Macon City Auditorium
March 15 - Orlando, FL - Dr. Phillips Center
March 16 - Clearwater, FL - The Sound
March 18-24 - Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea IX - Miami, FL to Cozumel, Mexico
APRIL 2024 UK Concerts
April 4 – London, The Royal Albert Hall
April 5 – London, The Royal Albert Hall
