If you go
› What: Joe Bonamassa› Where: Memorial Auditorium, 399 McCallie Ave.› When: 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 4› Admission: $79, $89, $99, $125 and $149 plus fees.› For more information: 423-757-5580
Joe BonamassaJoe Bonamassa started playing guitar before he started school, becoming, over the last decade or so, arguably the reigning blues-rock six-string king.
But he says it’s unlikely that a kid today will follow in his footsteps, as he did with B.B. King. In the digital age, as many have observed, the electric guitar is an endangered species.
“I tend to agree with that,” Bonamassa said in a recent phone interview. “I’ve been playing guitar professionally 29 years. As a musician, I’ve been playing since I was 4. It took me seven, eight years to get good enough to play onstage. Kids today can get an iPad and a pair of headphones and be DJing in two weeks.”
Bonamassa performs Monday night, Dec. 4, in Memorial Auditorium.