Joe Bonamassa has played over 3,500 shows throughout his career, but even the most seasoned musicians experience their fair share of highs and lows. Bonamassa recently shared his best and worst gigs during his 25-plus years onstage, offering a glimpse into the life of one of the most dedicated guitarists in the business.
Bonamassa’s best gig? According to him, it was his first performance at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in 2014. While the Royal Albert Hall in 2009 with Eric Clapton is often cited as a standout moment, Bonamassa considers his Red Rocks performance as the peak of his career.
“The weather was perfect—80 degrees with no wind. It was a golden era, and everything lined up perfectly. Luckily, we filmed it,” he recalls.
He credits his experience at the Royal Albert Hall in 2009 as a valuable lesson: “You’ve got to play the venue; you can’t let it play you.” When he first performed at the Albert Hall, he let the grandeur of the venue overwhelm him, but after 13 performances there, he learned how to truly own the stage.
With this newfound confidence, Bonamassa approached Red Rocks with the right mindset. “You’ve got to walk out there like you belong. You can’t act timid; you’ve got to own it,” he says.
Red Rocks, with its natural acoustics and a crowd of nearly 10,000, offered an intimate yet grand setting. “It felt like an out-of-body experience,” Bonamassa explains. “The energy was just incredible. Everything flowed perfectly.” For him, that Red Rocks show remains the best gig he’s ever played. The band has returned to the venue every year since, and they’re set to perform there again this year.
While Bonamassa has had many unforgettable performances, not every gig has been a success. He recalls a particularly crushing experience in 2000, a moment he now refers to as the “Golden Goose.”
After releasing his debut solo album, A New Day Yesterday, Bonamassa went on tour as a replacement for Roger McGuinn on Jethro Tull’s summer tour. Things went smoothly during that time—he even performed a cover of a Tull song, which Ian Anderson and Martin Barre encouraged him to play live, even though Bonamassa initially thought it was “kind of tacky.” But after the tour, things took a sharp turn.
The band played a series of shows on their own, and one of those was at Beale Street Live in Memphis. “We showed up, and it was dead quiet out there,” Bonamassa recalls. The venue, which no longer exists, was a door deal, meaning the band would get a percentage of ticket sales. The gig was set for 8:30 p.m. with no opening act—but when it was time to go onstage, there were only five people in the venue: the band, the bartender, and the van driver.
“We grossed zero dollars,” Bonamassa says, laughing at the absurdity. “Not a single person showed up. The bartender even said, ‘If you start playing, people might come in.’ But it was a rainy Tuesday night, and there was no one on the street. We were done.”
Instead of playing for an empty room, Bonamassa and his band worked on some arrangements and spent the next 45 minutes messing around with new ideas. “We were just goofing off, working up a new ending to one of our songs. Not even the bartender was watching us,” he adds.
The experience became a legend in Bonamassa’s career, and he humorously dubs it the “Golden Goose” moment. “If you look at the settlement sheet for that gig, it was zero paid. I think I got a Diet Coke out of it,” he laughs. “It was the worst gig ever.”
After that night, Bonamassa didn’t play Memphis for years. However, when he returned to the city, the crowds were packed, and the shows were a success. “I always tell the story about the Golden Goose,” he says, reflecting on the memorable low point in his career.
Despite the rough gig, Bonamassa’s journey is a testament to the ups and downs of life on the road. Today, he continues to draw massive crowds, but he never forgets the humbling experience of that night in Memphis.
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