Monday, January 31, 2011

Joe Bonamassa to Release "Dust Bowl" a Day After Performing at DeVos Performance Hall.

Multi-talented blues-rock guitar hero and singer-songwriter, Joe Bonamassa will release his twelfth album, Dust Bowl, on March 22, 2011. Just hours before the official release, Bonamassa will be providing Grand Rapids a live taste of the album when he rocks DeVos Performance Hall on Monday, March 21st at 8PM.

Dust Bowl was produced by Kevin "Caveman" Shirley (Black Crowes, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin) making it their sixth collaboration in five years. Shirley most recently produced Bonamassa's 2010 release Black Rock, which debuted at #1 on Billboard's Blues Chart and #39 on the Top 200, and the 2010 debut album from Black Country Communion, Bonamassa's English-American rock band with Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner) and Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Billy Idol).

Dust Bowl combines the gritty, blues-based tones of Bonamassa's first albums with the fluid, genre-defying sounds he's mastered in the years since and adds a dash of country from Joe's collaborations with the best of Nashville including legends Vince Gill and John Hiatt.

"This is the best album we've ever done," adds Bonamassa. "I'm finding more inspiration in storytelling in my 30s, in writing songs that are about something more profound than 'my baby left me.' I like albums that are made with the right intentions and sound organic and a little rough around the edges, like a great band playing live in the room, and that's what we accomplished with Dust Bowl."

Dust Bowl, supported by a multi-country tour taking Bonamassa and his ace touring band consisting of Carmine Rojas (bass), Rick Melick (keyboards) and Tal Bergman (drums) to the U.S., Canada, U.K., Europe, China, Japan, Singapore and Australia, is set to make a great 2011 for Bonamassa and his fans.

Tickets to the Joe Bonamassa concert at DeVos Performance Hall can be purchased at ticketmaster.com or charged by phone, at 1-800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased at DeVos Place and Van Andel Arena box offices along with Ticketmaster outlets.

Last year (2010) was a stellar year for Bonamassa and his best to date. He was named Billboard's #1 Blues Artist based on the charting success of Black Rock, the #2 Billboard Blues Album of 2010, and 2009's Ballad of John Henry, which was #9. He was called "The Blues Rock Titan" by Guitar World and was honored twice in Guitar Player Magazine's 2010 Readers' Choice Awards winning "Best Overall Guitarist" for the first time and "Best Blues Guitarist" for the fourth consecutive year.

Black Country Communion's debut self-titled album, released in Sept. 2010, entered the Billboard Top 200 Chart at #53 and received rave reviews. MOJO gave the album four stars and Goldmine said it's "Possibly the best hard rock album of 2010." Black Country Communion is currently in the studio recording their second album, which is tentatively set for a summer 2011 release.

For more information and an updated tour schedule, visit www.jbonamassa.com.