Joe Bonamassa: 'The UK was one of the first places ever to embrace me'

But long before he made his bow at the region’s premier venue, he trekked the small club circuit, including one former venue long since faded into memory.

“The Cockpit?” he questions down the line, and then barks out a laugh. “Was that under a railway bridge? It was f***ing cavernous, that!”

While it has been close to ten years since the Swinegate venue shut its doors, it has been an intervening period of creative and commercial enthusiasm for the blues guitarist’s virtuoso skills and sounds.

Fifteen studio solo albums, plus those with Bloodline, Rock Candy Funk Party, Beth Hart and Black Country Communion, alongside countless live records has helped him stamp his mark as one of the most proficient artists and prolific old-school draws of his generation.

This latest jaunt through European arenas is something of an annual occurrence, such is his pull.

Bonamassa is happy to find the fans are still there after a pandemic-forced hiatus from the road. He is speaking shortly before he takes to the stage for a blockbuster show in Prague. “It’s been great,” he mulls. “Big arenas, crowds coming out, it’s like we’ve picked up where we’ve left off, thank God. Everyone’s been super nice, really responsive, and the band’s been on fire. It’s been a great tour so far.”

He comes back to the United Kingdom like a rite of passage. His Royal Albert Hall shows are practically a traditional pilgrimage for fans around the world now. What is it about crossing the Atlantic that does the trick for him? It is simple, reciprocal affection for him. “The UK was one of the first places ever to embrace me,” he says.

There’s a pause as he mulls his words. “I’d had friends who had been to Europe for years to tour before I did 20 years ago, and they’d tell me to not even bother, that it was a hard market to crack. But we were selling out small clubs and people were coming out. Something resonated about what we were doing, and that’s been great.”

Bonamassa’s sound has always been locked into his rich six-string tones, but he has rarely shied away from singing the praises of the players around him. His band has seen a retrofit over the past few years; by his own estimation, Double Trouble keyboardist Reese Wynans may be the only man left from his previous stop in West Yorkshire.

“I’ve had some wonderful bands over the years,” he says. “When you change musicians though, to grow as an artist, you can go through different phases. We used to have horns for a long time, and now we don’t. It’s where your music takes the band, in a way, that dictates how they play.”

Bonamassa nominally arrives behind a live record, Tales of Time, recorded at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. But he is more than happy to be back under a roof for his latest run of shows. “It rained for two-and-a-half-hours that night,” he recalls. “You get good weather outside, it’s nice, but if you get s*** weather... I like playing indoors. You get guaranteed outcomes.”

He pauses again. “I’ve been doing this for 35 years. I think it’s got better.” He chuckles. “But I will be 46.” He demurs the congratulations for his impending birthday. “Another year closer!” Yet Bonamassa may be the biggest beneficiary yet; like a fine wine, his sound is only getting better with age.

Tales of Time is out now. Joe Bonamassa plays at First Direct Arena, Leeds on Friday May 12. https://jbonamassa.com/