JOE BONAMASSA – BRIGHTON CENTRE 27.4.25
It has been 132 days, as I’m writing this, since my last review for Sussex News, due to various projects and everyday life moments popping up here, there and everywhere in a hectic opening third to 2025. Nevertheless, I’m back and ready for more as I give you my account of events for my Sunday night seeing Joe Bonamassa at the Brighton Centre.
A New York-based guitarist and singer-songwriter, Bonamassa has become a quiet, but illustrious voice in the world of blues, rock ‘n’ roll and hard rock, starting from opening for the legendary B.B. King at the age of 12 before releasing fifteen solo albums over the past twenty-five years on his J&R Adventures label. Also notable for collaborations with Californian singer Beth Hart, Bonamassa takes influence from various heroes of British and Irish calibre, such as Eric Clapton, Rory Gallagher, Peter Green and Jimmy Page. Across the last week, he embarked on a five-date UK tour, starting off in Glasgow before making his way down to sunny Brighton at its eponymous Centre for the fifth and final show before heading off to Europe until mid-May.
As myself and my close friend Adrian made our way to our seats through a patient and orderly queue, we were puzzled by the lack of a support artist, instead being treated to a two-hour, twelve-song set courtesy of Bonamassa, kicking off from 8pm as the band waltzed their way onto the stage, backed by the sound of ‘Soul Fingers’ by The Bar-Kays. The band, made up of drummer Lamar Carter, bassist Calvin Turner, fellow guitarist Josh Smith, long-time keyboard player Reese Wynans and backing vocalists Jade MacRae and Dannielle Gaha DeAndrea, propelled the set into action via the opening ‘Hope You Realize It (Goodbye Again)’, in a performance that proved to be a strong synonym of the Bonamassa experience.
From the get go, Joe and his band demonstrate a powerful balance of musicianship through communication in solos and great syncopated hits that close the song out. A chilled opening section of the Bobby “Blue” Bland number, ‘Twenty-Four Hour Blues’ makes use of some serene vocalisations from Jade and Dannielle before the band reach a fever-pitch crescendo through distortion and drive. Somewhat of a more traditional blues track, ‘Well, I Done Got Over It’, made famous by Guitar Slim, is a much more simplistic performance, due to the nature of 12-bar blues, but employs a good dynamic come down for Joe to heighten the crowd’s ferocity with some stupendous soloing, leading to one audience member crying “Play it, Joe!”.
‘Self-Inflicted Wounds’, to me, at least, holds a slightly Pink Floyd-esque quality to its sound, with its incorporation of slow 6/8 groove and angelic synth strings brought to the mix by Reese Wynans. The following cut, ‘I Want to Shout About It’ makes use of some fantastic jamming and soloing between Joe and Reese in a upbeat, swinging fashion that the song masterfully plays around in, while ‘The Last Matador Of Bayonne’, the slowest song of the set so far, sombre in tone, includes some inventive chord work as Reese and Calvin hold down the predominant ground for the song to walk on. Despite not being in the same wheelhouse stylistically, this track’s slower pace reminds me of Will Oldham’s more Americana-tinged works as Bonnie “Prince” Billy.
The sleazy and dramatic ‘Pack It Up’ features some of the most erratic keyboard performances of the entire night, with the sounds Reese is utilising from his musical arsenal almost sounding like a spaceship at times. This song is also the first time we are treated to a guitar solo from Josh Smith, whose tone and technique almost matches that of Joe’s…! Joe takes a minute to talk to the crowd, stating it’s their fifth time in Brighton: “We have to thank you for coming because, if it wasn’t for you, we’d f**k off and never come back!”. Following some band introductions, we are treated to the B.B. King-feeling ‘The Heart That Never Waits’. As we enter the final third of the main set, Joe makes his time across this song exploring a versatile usage of his encyclopaedia of guitar techniques in his solo. On the more progressive ‘Is It Safe to Go Home’, there are some great rhythmic pushes and pulls to be found in the chorus, with some powerful rising chord progressions being a prominent feature of the song’s closing sections.
The track ‘It’s Hard But It’s Fair’ sees some of the wildest guitar work from Joe, almost mimicking the sound of Reese’s Hammond organ which plays a vital role on this track, creating the feel of a grooving train ride. From here, we seamlessly transition into the last song of the main set, a rendition of Led Zeppelin’s ‘How Many More Times’, sans Jade and Dannielle on backing vocal duties. A fairly strong rendition, given with the same gravitas as per the whole show, we finally get treated to a drum solo from Lamar Carter, and boy, does it rock! As Jade and Dannielle return for the “they call me the hunter” verse, the band power out for one big finish before departing the stage leading to the vicarious rounds of cheers, applause and cries for an encore.
Naturally, the septet return to, firstly, celebrate the 25th birthday of their lighting technician Mark, and secondly, treat the crowd to a fan-favourite rendition of ‘Sloe Gin’, complete with chilling electric piano tones, euphoric chord changes in a monumental bridge and the sight of people starting to rise from their seats to sway at the front of the stage. Overall, Joe Bonamassa’s fifth jaunt to the Brighton Centre is a masterful end to a tour; even with blues not being as much of a mainstay in my listening sphere compared to other styles of music, the experience that he treated us to was certainly one for the books, a fantastic and fun-filled show for me to come back to for reviewing, I think…!
Joe Bonamassa:
Joe Bonamassa – electric guitar, vocals
Josh Smith – electric guitar
Calvin Turner – bass guitar
Lamar Carter – drums
Reese Wynans – keyboards
Jade MacRae – backing vocals
Dannielle Gaha DeAndrea – backing vocals
Joe Bonamassa setlist:
‘Hope You Realize It (Goodbye Again)’
‘Twenty-Four Hour Blues’ (Bobby “Blue” Bland cover)
‘Well, I Done Got Over It’ (Guitar Slim cover)
‘Self-Inflicted Wounds’
‘I Want To Shout About It’ (Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters cover)
‘The Last Matador Of Bayonne’
‘Pack It Up’ (Freddie King cover)
‘The Heart That Never Waits’
‘Is It Safe To Go Home’
‘It’s Hard But It’s Fair’
‘How Many More Times’ (Led Zeppelin cover)
(encore)
‘Sloe Gin’ (Tim Curry cover)
linktr.ee/officialjoebonamassa
