In Colorado, the turning of the calendar to August means a lot of things. We’ve got plenty of summer ahead of us, but the end is closer than the beginning. Palisade peaches and Rocky Ford melons have ripened to perfection. Pre-season football means Bronco mania is firing up, in anticipation of the regular season opener in just a few weeks. And in the foothills just west of Denver, blues rock superstar Joe Bonamassa is sound checking before his annual performance at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
Bonamassa’s show this past Friday was his thirteenth Red Rocks appearance, which began with his landmark “Muddy Wolf” tribute show in 2014. With the exception of the COVID year of 2020, he’s played at least one night at this world-renowned venue every year since.
(A bit of Bonamassa/Red Rocks trivia… His first three shows at Red Rocks, in 2014, 2015, and 2016, were all tribute shows to legendary blues and blues rock guitarists who have influenced his career. The list includes Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf (2014), B.B. King, Freddy King, and Albert King (2015), and Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page (2016). It wasn’t until his August 23, 2017 Red Rocks appearance that he played a show featuring his original material.)
I’ve had the privilege to attend eleven of Bonamassa’s thirteen Red Rocks shows. By this time I’ve pretty much run out of new or unique superlatives that do justice to the phenomenon that is Joe Bonamassa Live. In the review I posted of his 2022 show, I noted that “He can do things with a guitar that mere mortals can’t fathom”. Three years later… ditto.
On Friday night, Bonamassa did “those things” for two solid hours. I was sitting next to a guy named R. Dewey (yeah, I know… but that’s what he said his name was), who told me, “It’s like he’s talking to his guitars, and they’re talking back, but in a language only he and they can understand.” I’m not completely sure I follow, but given how much R. Dewey was rocking out, I’m positive that was meant to be high praise.
The setlist for this next-to-last night of Bonamassa’s 2025 summer tour skewed heavily to his 2023 release, Blues Deluxe Volume 2, with five of the evening’s twelve songs coming from that album. Four of those five songs were covers of blues standards. A fifth like cover came from the original Blues Deluxe album, released in 2003. See below for the complete setlist, presented in order.
I will admit to being surprised that the setlist didn’t include any material from Bonamassa’s just released seventeenth studio album, Breakthrough (which dropped on July 18). But when you have a catalog as rich as Bonamassa’s, it’s impossible to craft a setlist that includes every song everyone in the audience came to hear. The original tunes included in this setlist were all keepers. I was especially pleased that “Driving Towards the Daylight” (from the 2012 album by the same name) was included… it’s been a while since I’ve heard that terrific song played live.
One of the things I’ve always admired and appreciated about Bonamassa is that he insists on surrounding himself with superb accompanying musician and singers. I won’t call these players his “backup band”… that would be grossly unfair. Individually and collectively, they are world class.
Reese Wynans, an original member of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble band, and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has played keyboards with Bonamassa since that 2014 “Muddy Wolf” show. Backing vocals for this tour are being provided by Jade MacRae and Danni DeAndrea , two extraordinary vocalists who have been touring and recording with Bonamassa for years. Calvin Turner (bass) and Lamar Carter (drums) form a sensational rhythm section. The lineup rounds out with Josh Smith, a highly accomplished guitarist in his own right. In addition to playing with Bonamassa, Smith serves as musical director and has produced or co-produced (with Bonamassa) a number of albums under the Bonamassa umbrella.
Friday night’s show provided plenty of opportunities for these players to strut their stuff. Wynans had several solo opportunities, including an absolutely killer one during the cover of Freddie King’s “Pack It Up.” That same song included the second of Smith’s terrific solos of the evening. Carter’s solo at the end of “How Many More Times”/”The Hunter” was outstanding. And MacRae and DeAndrea impress not only with their vocals, but with their constantly-in-motion choreography as well.
The only person who didn’t get a solo opportunity was Turner. But I’ve got to tell you… he provided me with one of my personal highlights of the night, by virtue of his wardrobe. His black t-shirt with the bight blue, over-sized script “Reese Wynans” was awesome.
And Bonamassa himself? Simply mesmerizing. The man completely owns the stage, and the audience. When the self-proclaimed mayor of Nerdville dons his suit and shades, he becomes a force unto himself. He wonders back and forth across the stage for his solos, leaving everyone in the audience, whether seated left or right of center stage, in awe of his extraordinary skills. I absolutely love the huge monitors on either side of the Red Rocks stage, because they provide an opportunity, when the cameras focus in close, for everyone to witness the master at work. There are a lot of incredible blues rock guitarists out there these days. And I mean, outstanding players. But nobody can do what Bonamassa does.
And now, I think I’m beginning to understand what R. Dewey was talking about.
Story and photos by Rick Witt www.rickwittphotography.com
