joe bonamassa
Photo Credit:© Christie Goodwin

Joe Bonamassa’s Tribute to Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf at Sold-Out Red Rocks Amphitheater To Be Released On DVD, Blu-ray and CD on March 20

Blues Music Is Not Dead

“They always try to write off the blues; well we’ve proven tonight that at least 9,000 people like the blues,” said celebrated blues rock master Joe Bonamassa who will release his highly anticipated Joe Bonamassa – Muddy Wolf At Red Rocks on DVD, Blu-ray and CD set on March 20, 2015.
The exclusive concert experience tributing blues legends Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf was filmed at Red Rocks Amphitheater over Labor Day weekend in 2014. Carved into the bedrock of Colorado’s majestic Rocky Mountains, the famed amphitheater sets the stage for Bonamassa’s fiery delivery of over 2.5 hours of bluesy guitar-wailing and horn-filled tunes honoring the two Blues greats. Playing to a sold-out crowd of 9,000 fans, this marks the biggest show of Bonamassa’s career, a major milestone for the bluesman.
The Blu-ray and DVD contains over 1.5 hours of bonus features including exclusive behind the scenes footage, a photo gallery, historic footage of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, and a featurette of Bonamassa and producer Kevin Shirley’s trip to The Crossroads.

Watch the DVD trailer here:

Unlike any Bonamassa show before, Muddy Wolf marks the start of a tribute concert series that will display a different band and catalog of material that will vary from Bonamassa’s music as a solo artist. For Muddy Wolf, songs were carefully selected from the catalogs of Howlin’ Wolf, one of Chicago’s most influential bluesmen, known for his deep, scratchy voice, and Muddy Waters, considered the “father of modern Chicago blues.” Waters was a major inspiration for the British blues explosion of the 1960s, a genre that has heavily influenced Bonamassa’s original music throughout his career. The concert features a selection of songs from each artist, followed by a 30-minute set of songs from Bonamassa’s own extensive catalog.

The concert features a lineup of players different from Bonamassa’s touring band, dubbed the “Muddy Wolf Band” which includes Anton Fig (drums), Michael Rhodes (bass), Reese Wynans (piano, Hammond organ), Lee Thornburg (trumpet, horn arrangements), Ron Dziubla (saxophone), Nick Lane (trombone), Mike Henderson (harmonica), and Kirk Fletcher (guitar).

Of the experience, a humbled and grateful Bonamassa said, “‘Inspired’ was the feeling that permeated the camp from the very downbeat. It was the gig of a lifetime for me. What you see on this DVD is what it was like to play in front of the largest audience of my career, playing music that I loved, love, and fell in love with again in a much bigger way than I had before.”

The concert was presented by Keeping the Blues Alive (KTBA), which Bonamassa founded to promote the heritage of the blues to the next generation, fund music scholarships, and supplement the loss of music education programs in public schools. With ticket sales from the show, KTBA raised over $40,000 for schools across the country.

What was proved on this night, with $40,000 raised for charity and 9,000 fans dancing to Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf songs, is that blues music is alive and well.

joe bonamassa

Joe Bonamassa : Muddy Wolf At Red Rocks (2CD/2DVD/BLURAY/3LP)

Tracklisting

MUDDY WATERS SET
Mississippi Heartbeat (Intro)

1. Tiger In Your Tank
2. I Can’t Be Satisfied
3. You Shook Me
4. Stuff You Gotta Watch
5. Double Trouble
6. Real Love
7. My Home Is On The Delta
8. All Aboard

HOWLIN’ WOLF SET
1. How Many More Years
2. Shake For Me
3. Hidden Charms
4. Band and Introductions
5. Spoonful
6. Killing Floor
7. Evil (Is Going On)
8. All Night Boogie (All Night Long)

JOE BONAMASSA SET
1. Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)
2. Oh Beautiful!
3. Love Ain’t A Love Song
4. Sloe Gin
5. Ballad of John Henry
6. Muddy Wolf Credits

BONUS FEATURES
1. Joe and Kevin’s Excellent Adventure… to The Crossroads
2. Behind the Rocks – An Exclusive View Behind the Scenes
3. The Originals – Historic Footage of Muddy Waters & Howlin’ Wolf
4. Rockagram Gallery


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