Joe Bonamassa and JJ Grey & Mofro

Joe Bonamassa’s career blossomed at a young age and by the time he was 12 years old he was already working as the opening act for the legendary blues guitarist, B.B. King. Although Bonamassa respected prominent blues musicians like T-Bone Walker and Robert Johnson, he was more inclined to listen to Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, or Rory Gallagher. This influence can be conveyed by Bonamassa’s more rock and roll approach to making blues music.

In 2000 Joe Bonamassa released his debut album “A New Day Yesterday”, which was produced by the legendary Tom Dowd who was known for recording notable artists such as Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Rod Stewart. The debut album received favorable reviews and reached the No. 9 spot on the US Billboard Top Blues Albums. The album also featured several cover songs by many of Bonamassa’s favorite artists such as Jethro Tull, Free, and Albert King. Bonamassa released his second studio album “So, It’s Like That” on his record label, J&R Adventures. The album is one of Bonamassa’s few albums to feature all original material and did successful on the charts reaching the No. 1 slot on the US Billboard Top Blues Albums.

Joe Bonamassa is an incredibly prolific songwriter releasing an album almost every year. Each album that Bonamassa releases seems to gain him more success and popularity. His 2014 album “Different Shades of Blue” reached the No. 8 spot on the US Billboard charts and featured nearly all original material. Bonamassa is usually fond of performing cover songs and the list of songs he covers is highly diverse. He has covered unique artists such as Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Jimi Hendrix, Al Green, and Barbra Streisand. Apart from his solo studio albums, Bonamassa has also released collaboration albums with singer-songwriter Beth Hart as well as released a variety of live albums.

Perhaps the reason that there are so many live albums and live video albums of Joe Bonamassa is because he is at his best when performing live. A normal touring year for Bonamassa is around 200 shows per year and many of these shows sell out. Bonamassa has played a multitude of unique venues ranging from large music festivals to the Vienna Opera House. His live shows convey his intricate techniques that bring the traditional style of blues music to life in its rawest form.

JJ Grey and Mofro might just be the most awesome thing to ever come from an air conditioning company in history. The seeds of the band were sewn when guitarist Daryl Hance struck up a friendship with singer and songwriter John “JJ” Grey as they both worked for an air conditioning company in their shared home town of Jacksonville, Florida. They became close duo to their shared passion for music and decided to form a band together in the early 90’s. They decided on the name Mofro Magic for themselves and spend a good couple of years building up a loyal following all over the southern states of the USA.

Strangely enough for a band so typically American in both style and sound, the band were first offered a record deal in the United Kingdom in 1994. Unfortunately, the deal fell through after some initial recording sessions and with a revamped line-up of mostly English musicians, they shortened their name to Mofro and returned to Jacksonville. They had more luck in their home town and were signed to Fog City Records by 2001, releasing their debut album “Blackwater” in the same year. Unfortunately, what little run of luck they had run out later that year as a car crash involving several members of the band stalled things for a long time.

However, nothing was going to keep this band down for long, and in 2004, they released their second album as Mofro “Lochloosa”. In 2007, they signed a new record deal and changed their name again from Mofro to JJ Grey And Mofro, and ever since then they’ve become one of the most popular new jam bands around. Their live show is utterly unmissable, and JJ Grey remains one of the great unsung heroes of rock and roll songwriting. They’re a band that has the seal of approval of both Toots and the Maytals and The Allman Brothers Band, and if that doesn’t convince you that they’re the real deal, nothing will. Highly recommended.