Blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa made his return to North Carolina on Friday, March 13th as he took the stage at DPAC (Durham Performing Arts Center). A bit of an anomaly these days, there was no opener for the show and the event started at 8pm sharp. What might seem like a short setlist actually resulted in a two-hour show with a bit of something for everyone. It began with the title track off his latest release, 2025’s Breakthrough, followed by “Trigger Finger” off the same album, and the crowd was hooked from the start.
Bonamassa mentioned that backstage there is a brick wall adorned with signatures of past performers. He found his brick which read “Joe Bonamassa, 2010”, and added this was his eighth time playing the venue. From the sound of the crowd, many have seem him at every show. Feet were tapping, bodies were slowly grooving back and forth, and an older gentleman with a walker was so moved by the music that he danced his way through the aisles on more than one occasion.
The show weaved originals and covers in and out of the playlist – “Drive By The Exit Sign” from the aforementioned Breakthrough and “The Last Matador of Bayonne” from 2011’s Dust Bowl were well received from the crowd. The slow, mellow build-up on Last Matador erupts into a powerhouse of a song, with Josh Smith also highlighted in a guitar solo. Freddie King’s “Pack It Up” was a crowd favorite, as was “Well, Well”, a Delaney and Bonnie song that Bonamassa covered with the absent Beth Hart…