Joe Bonamassa released his debut solo record in 2000, over the last quarter century he has become the foremost ambassador of the blues. Bonamassa has forged a career that pays respect to the genre and its classics while simultaneously creating new music that makes the blues relevant to a 21st century audience. His 2025 spring tour brought him to his first visit to Foxwoods Casino, judging from the reaction by the nearly sold-out crowd, it won’t be his last. Please scroll below for MisplacedStraws Joe Bonamassa live pics and review!
One of the great things about seeing a Joe Bonamassa show is that each tour provides a unique experience and theme. While the setlist for this show was very similar to the last show I saw in November of ’23 (8 of the night’s 13 songs were played at both shows), the differences were enough to completely change the vibe and create something brand new. Bonamassa’s last studio record, 2023’s Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 was well represented with five songs, including the up-tempo, original opener “Hope You Realize It (Goodbye Again)” as well as covers of “Twenty-Four Hour Blues”, “It’s Hard But It’s Fair”, “Well, I Done Got Over It”, and “I Want To Shout About It”.
About half of a Joe Bonamassa set is comprised of classic blues covers, but I feel it’s his original material that often provides the highlights of the evening. His own work was well represented with tracks like “Dust Bowl”, the always stunning “The Last Matador of Bayonne”, and my personal favorite, “Driving Towards The Daylight”, among others. His original music fits seamlessly with the covers, showing the influence the blues masters had on Bonamassa.
Joe Bonamassa is a consummate showman; he makes sure use the entire stage so all the fans can get an up-close view as he deftly tackles his extended solos. He also makes sure to acknowledge his backing band, giving each member time to shine throughout the evening. The band is anchored by long-time guitarist (and Connecticut native) Josh Smith on guitar and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Reese Wynans on keys. The fantastic band also includes Lamar Carter on drums, Calvin Turner on bass, and vocalists Jade McCray and Danielle DeAndrea, both of which provide not only incredible vocals but a throwback to the days when backup singers had coordinated choreography for each song.
Bonamassa doesn’t address the crowd much during his shows, preferring to let his guitar do the talking, but when he does, he is very witty and funny. He was amazed that Mashantucket was the actual name of the town he was in and, during his break to introduce his band, asked the crowd if anyone was actually born and raised in Mashantucket. After a blistering main set closing cover of Led Zeppelin’s “How Many More Times”, he once-again addressed the crowd before the encore. He said how there was a certain song that was played often by the band, and he thought they would give it a little break. He then talked about all the complaints he received for not playing it, so he decided to bring it back. That led to an epic version of his 2002 signature song “Mountain Time” to end the night.
When introducing his band, Joe Bonamassa made sure the audience knew that keyboardist Wynans was a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee from his work with Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble. Now that it has been 25 years since his debut solo record, A New Day Yesterday, hopefully Joe will join Wynans as an inductee soon. In addition to his incredible success, Joe Bonamassa has served as a mentor for younger artists, like Joanne Shaw Taylor and Robert John & The Wreck, and through his Keeping The Blues Alive foundation has done just that, kept the legacy of this uniquely American music alive. Joe Bonamassa is one of the best ambassadors the blues has ever had and hopefully, the Rock Hall will recognize that soon.
