Blues-Rock Guitar Virtuoso Joe Bonamassa Voted 'Best Blues Guitarist' in Guitar Player's 2007 Readers' Choice Awards
Bonamassa is Touring Throughout 2007 and Will Also Release a New Studio
Album on August 21, With Kevin Shirley Again Producing
LOS ANGELES, April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Joe Bonamassa was named "Best
Blues Guitarist" in the just-released results of Guitar Player Magazine's
2007 Readers' Choice Awards, announced Premier Artists Services. The annual
Awards are 100% reader-nominated and reader-voted, making the honorees a
true representation of talent widely respected by guitar music fans in the
know. In the brand new issue announcing the winners, Guitar Player's Editor
in Chief Michael Molenda wrote, "We salute and congratulate all the
fabulous artists and products spotlighted by our impassioned and insightful
reader community. Bravo!"
Renowned for his fluid phrasing and fusion of traditional roots blues
with contemporary inflections and rock 'n roll sensibilities, guitar
virtuoso Bonamassa said in a 2005 Guitar Player interview, "When I play
blues, I try to think a little outside the box, while still paying tribute
to the founding fathers like Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson." Raised in
upstate New York, he began making music at age four, and when he was
twelve, blues master B.B. King asked Joe out on the road with him. At the
time, King said, "This kid's potential is unbelievable. He hasn't even
begun to scratch the surface. He's one of a kind." In 2005, B.B. invited
Joe to be the opening act on his landmark 80th Birthday Celebration Tour.
In that same spirit, the 2007 Guitar Player Readers' Choice Award for "Best
Blues Guitarist" pairs Joe with another blues legend -- he tied in the
category with 4X GRAMMY-winning Chicago blues icon Buddy Guy, an honor in
itself.
Since his acclaimed 2000 debut A New Day Yesterday, Joe Bonamassa has
released six full-length CDs -- one live and five studio albums --
including his most recent, 2006's You & Me, which debuted at #1 on
Billboard Magazine's Blues chart in June of last year. Joe's dedication and
consistently passionate work have, in fact, ensured that all of his albums
have either hit #1 or gone Top 10 on that chart. Currently, he's wrapping
up his seventh album, a combination of Bonamassa originals and blues
classics, set for release August 21 on Joe's own Premier Artists imprint.
The forthcoming disc reunites Bonamassa with his You & Me producer Kevin
Shirley, whose credits include the Black Crowes, Aerosmith, Joe Satriani
and Led Zeppelin (Shirley's next project after Joe takes him to London to
remix more classic Zeppelin for Atlantic).
An inspired live performer who plays over 100 dates annually,
L.A.-based Bonamassa has been on the road in Europe and the U.S. for most
of '07 -- except for recording sessions -- and is slated to do so for the
rest of the year. He's also the youngest member of the Memphis, TN-based
Blues Foundation's Board of Directors, and is one of the foundations
foremost spokespersons for their respected Blues In The Schools program. In
a 2006 Guitar Player piece he said, "I want to help younger musicians
understand how today's music is related to stuff that was popular a long
time ago."
For more information visit
http://www.jbonamassa.com
2007 JOE BONAMASSA TOUR DATES
5/5/07 ELGIN, IL ELGIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
5/6/07 GRAND RAPIDS, MI THE INTERSECTION
5/8/07 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK ROUTE 66 ROADHOUSE
5/9-10/07 DALLAS, TX HOUSE OF BLUES DALLAS
5/11/07 AMARILLO, TX GLOBE NEWS CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS
5/12/07 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK STAGE CENTER
5/13/07 AUSTIN, TX ANTONE'S NIGHTCLUB
5/16/07 PHOENIX, AZ THE RHYTHM ROOM
5/17/07 AGOURA HILLS, CA THE CANYON CLUB
5/18-19/07 LAS VEGAS, NV THE CANYON CLUB
5/20/07 SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA THE COACH HOUSE
5/23/07 SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA DOWNTOWN BREW
5/24/07 SPARKS, NV JOHN ASCUAGA'S
NUGGET-CELEBRITY SHOWROOM
5/25/07 BOISE, ID THE BIG EASY
5/26-27/07 AVON, CO BEAVER CREEK RESORT
5/31/07 VIRGINIA BEACH, VA JEWISH MOTHER
6/01/07 HUNTINGTON, NY INTERMEDIA ARTS CENTER
6/02/07 HAGERSTOWN, MD 12TH ANNUAL WESTERN MARYLAND
BLUES FESTIVAL
6/04/07 ALEXANDRIA, VA BIRCHMERE
6/05/07 SHIRLEY, MA BULL RUN RESTAURANT
6/06/07 RIDGEFIELD, CT THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE
6/7/07 BUFFALO, NY THE TRALF
6/08/07 COLUMBUS, OH THE LC PAVILION
6/09/07 PIERCY, CA REDWOOD
8/31/07 KETTERING, OH FRAZE PAVILION AT LINCOLN PARK CENTER
9/01/07 ST. MARYS, OH KC GEIGER PARK - RIVERSIDE BLUESFEST
9/02/07 ROCKFORD, IL ON THE WATERFRONT FESTIVAL
9/03/07 INDIANAPOLIS, IN MILITARY PARK
9/06/07 APPLE VALLEY, MN MINNESOTA ZOO AMPHITHEATER
9/13/07 BOULDER, CO FOX THEATRE
9/14/07 TELLURIDE, CO TELLURIDE TOWN PARK
10/5/07 STAFFORD, TX STAFFORD CENTRE
11/1/07 CLEVELAND, OH HOUSE OF BLUES
11/3/07 MILWAUKEE, WI PITMAN THEATRE - ALVERNO COLLEGE
SOURCE Premier Artists Services
