Blues-Rock Artist Joe Bonamassa to Release New Solo Album Dust Bowl on March 22, 2011 with Special Guest Performances by Vince Gill and John Hiatt

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Multi-talented blues-rock guitar hero, singer-songwriter, and member of Black Country Communion, Joe Bonamassa will release his twelfth full-length solo album, Dust Bowl, on March 22, 2011. This is Bonamassa's ninth studio release on his own J&R Adventures label, which he created with longtime manager Roy Weisman.  Dust Bowl was produced by Kevin "Caveman" Shirley (Black Crowes, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin) making it their sixth collaboration in five years.  Shirley most recently produced Bonamassa's 2010 release Black Rock, which debuted at #1 on Billboard's Blues Chart and #39 on the Top 200, and the 2010 debut album from Black Country Communion, Bonamassa's English-American rock band with Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner) and Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Billy Idol).

Dust Bowl was recorded in sessions at Black Rock Studios in Santorini, Greece, Ben's Studio in Nashville, TN, The Cave in Malibu, CA and The Village in Los Angeles, CA. It combines the gritty, blues-based tones of Bonamassa's first albums with the fluid, genre-defying sounds he's mastered in the years since and adds a dash of country from Joe's collaborations with the best of Nashville including legends Vince Gill and John Hiatt.

"Dust Bowl," Shirley explains, "is very firmly rooted in the Blues, but definitely explores the outer reaches of the genre and showcases Joe's amazing virtuosity as he digs deep into his psyche in some lengthy and blistering guitar solos."

"This is the best album we've ever done," adds Bonamassa. "I'm finding more inspiration in storytelling in my 30s, in writing songs that are about something more profound than 'my baby left me.' I like albums that are made with the right intentions and sound organic and a little rough around the edges, like a great band playing live in the room, and that's what we accomplished with Dust Bowl."

On the John Hiatt/John Porter-penned "Tennessee Plates," Hiatt duets with Bonamassa and Vince Gill lends his signature guitar stylings. Gill also plays on "Sweet Rowena," a song he composed with frequent writing partner Pete Wasner. Arlan Scheirbaum, Beth Hart and Blondie Chaplin play on the Michael Kamen/Tim Curry track "No Love On The Street," and Glenn Hughes sings on the Paul Rodgers-penned "Heartbreaker."

The album opens with Bonamassa originals "Slow Train," an old-style British Blues song, and title track "Dust Bowl," the album's first single. "The title track of the album just describes my life. It really fits my voice, it fits me as a solo artist and just has a really nice feel to it." Other standout originals include "Black Lung Heartache," "The Last Matador of Bayonne," and "The Whale That Swallowed Jonah."

Dust Bowl's release will be supported by a multi-country tour taking Bonamassa and his ace touring band consisting of Carmine Rojas (bass), Rick Melick (keyboards) and Tal Bergman (drums) to the U.S., Canada, U.K., Europe, China, Japan, Singapore and Australia

2010 was a stellar year for Bonamassa and his best to date. He was named Billboard's #1 Blues Artist based on the charting success of Black Rock, the #2 Billboard Blues Album of 2010, and 2009's Ballad of John Henry, which was #9. He was called "The Blues Rock Titan" by Guitar World and was honored twice in Guitar Player Magazine's 2010 Readers' Choice Awards winning "Best Overall Guitarist" for the first time and "Best Blues Guitarist" for the fourth consecutive year. Black Country Communion's debut self-titled album, released in Sept. 2010, entered the Billboard Top 200 Chart at #53 and received rave reviews. MOJO gave the album four stars and Goldmine said it's "Possibly the best hard rock album of 2010." Black Country Communion is currently in the studio recording their second album, which is tentatively set for a summer 2011 release.

For more information and updated tour schedule, visit www.jbonamassa.com.

SOURCE J&R Adventures