After having his 2020 concerts fall through because of the coronavirus-fueled shutdown, blues-rock guitar star Joe Bonamassa is counting on his rescheduled 2021 summer, fall and winter tours to take place as scheduled. Or, rather, as rescheduled.
The fact that the nation and world is now confronting the surge of the COVID-19 delta variant concerns him, of course. But the San Diego-bound Bonamassa — who released two albums last year and has a new one, "Time Clocks," due out this fall — is determined to hit the road now.
"I don't operate well when things are not in my control, and this is no different," he said. "I can tell you we are going to show up — I'll show up. I'm bullish these shows will happen and nothing will change."
What Bonamassa's summer tour will not include, by design, is even a hint of social commentary.
"Here's what I offer: I offer an escape from the real world," he said, speaking from New York recently.
"Outside the concert hall, there are bad things happening in all directions. So, we don't 'do' politics at our gigs. We don't do anything, other than play a two-hour and 10-minute show for people who like our music, and that's pretty much it."
Bonamassa's tour kicked off July 30 in San Jose, California. A two-time Grammy Award-nominee and PBS TV concert specials favorite, the dark-haired guitarist, singer, songwriter and musical entrepreneur is accompanied on the tour by his veteran band.
It features former "Late Night with David Letterman" drummer Anton Fig, bassist Michael Rhodes and former Stevie Ray Vaughan keyboardist Reese Wynans, along with two horn players and several backing singers.
"Everything I do is blues-based," said Bonamassa, who has topped the national Billboard Blues Album Charts more than a dozen times. He is likely the only musician anywhere who, as a 12-year-old, opened 20 concerts for (and jammed with) B.B. King and performed on "The New Mickey Mouse Club" TV show at 14.
"I think that, as you become a more mature musician, listeners can hear the (increased) experience in your playing," he continued.
"But I like the way I played 20 years ago. I miss that reckless abandon and try to summon that up as much as I can. I don't want to get pedantic and predictable."
True to his word, Bonamassa last month announced a partnership with Heritage Auction House.
The collaboration will see the digital auctioning of an NFT (nonfungible token) of the master recording and publishing rights to his new song, "Broken Record," along with his 1959 Gibson Les Paul Sunburst guitar and his 1963 Fender Vibroverb amplifier, both of which he used to record "Broken Record."
"The guitar itself is worth $650,000," said Bonamassa, an avid six-string collector who owns 15 other vintage Les Pauls and hundreds of guitars overall.
"I'm intrigued by what's been going in the art world with NFTs and wanted to take it to a new level. I like being a maverick."
At 44, this upstate New York native is three decades younger than such legends as Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, both of whom he salutes on his 2018 live double-album, "British Blues Explosion." Yet, while he doesn't anticipate retiring any time soon, he's already given thought to what the next chapter in his life will entail.
"The minute it's not fun and I'm going through the motions and not being honest with myself or my audience," he said, "it will be time to auction off the rest of my guitar collection — and I have one of the biggest collections in the world — and retire.
"My life isn't defined by guitar or how many records I've put out. There will be a second act for me and I want to be young enough to do it with real passion. I don't want it to be when I'm in my 70s. At the end, you've got to be ready to stick the landing."
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