Joe Bonamassa

Joe Bonamassa, who opened for B.B. King at age 12, was a cocky 26-year-old blues-rock guitar virtuoso when he made his breakthrough third album, Blues Deluxe, in 2003—and an established 46-year-old when he released Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 in the fall. In a thoughtful conversation, Bonamassa reflects on all that has happened in between, how he has grown as a musician, taken control of the business side of his career and launched his own label and foundation, both called Keeping the Blues Alive. He also weighs the impact of artificial intelligence on music. Would the blues be the hardest kind of music for robots to fake? (Photo by Adam Kennedy)