Joe Bonamassa to Celebrate B.B. King’s Legacy at Sold-Out Grammy Museum® Program in Los Angeles

“Joe Bonamassa Celebrates B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100” Set for this Friday, August 28th, Featuring Special Guests and Moderated by Jeff Garlin

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, August 25, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Five-time Grammy^®- nominated blues-rock artist Joe Bonamassa will perform at the Grammy Museum^® in Los Angeles this Friday, August 28th for the sold-out special program, “Joe Bonamassa Celebrates B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100,” an evening honoring the life, music, and enduring influence of one of the most important figures in American music. The program begins at 7:30 PM PT and will feature special guest appearances by Shemekia Copeland and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, with actor and comedian Jeff Garlin moderating the conversation. STREAM B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100. Shop the Album HERE.

The event extends the celebration of what would have been B.B. King’s 100th year with Bonamassa’s landmark album B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100. Conceived and produced by Bonamassa after realizing no recorded tribute was taking shape around King’s centennial, the 32-song project became an ambitious, cross-generational gathering of artists spanning blues, rock, soul, jazz, and beyond. Released earlier this year via Keeping The Blues Alive Records, the album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Blues Albums Chart, becoming Bonamassa’s milestone 30th chart-topper before The Spirit Of Rory Live From Cork subsequently extended his record to 31.

For Bonamassa, the project was deeply personal. King first invited him on tour when Bonamassa was only 12 years old, beginning a relationship that shaped his development as both a musician and an advocate for the blues. That history became the foundation for Blues Summit 100, which Bonamassa produced alongside longtime collaborator Josh Smith with the full support of the B.B. King Estate and The B.B. King Music Company.


The album brings together one of the broadest assemblies of artists ever gathered around King’s music, with contributions from Eric Clapton, Chaka Khan, Buddy Guy, Slash, George Benson, Gary Clark Jr., Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Shemekia Copeland, Marcus King, Warren Haynes, Keb’ Mo’, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Michael McDonald, Bobby Rush, Larkin Poe, Trombone Shorty, Dion, Paul Rodgers, Jimmie Vaughan and many others.

“What we figured out was that nobody was really doing a tribute record to him,” Bonamassa said of the project’s origins. “It wasn’t really on anyone’s radar. So in January of 2025, we decided to start the B.B. King Blues Summit 100 album.”

Bonamassa describes the lineup as intentional, not exhaustive. “We wanted a good cross-section,” he says. “Artists who are icons, and artists who maybe aren’t as well known yet.” The result, he believes, is something rare. “In my opinion, this is the greatest gathering of artists in the last 50 years for a bespoke album that started from scratch. And it came together because of B.B. King himself. No other person could have made this happen.”

The August 28th Grammy Museum program will bring that celebration into an intimate live setting, with Bonamassa, Copeland, Ingram, and additional musicians reflecting on King’s musical legacy, the making of the album, and the way his influence continues to connect generations of artists. Copeland appears on the album alongside Slash and Myles Kennedy on “When Love Comes To Town,” while Ingram opens the project with “Paying The Cost To Be The Boss.”

Their participation also underscores one of the central ideas behind Blues Summit 100: King’s legacy is still active, moving through established artists and younger musicians who continue to reshape the blues for new audiences.


In connection with the event, Gibson’s nonprofit Gibson Gives has donated an Ebony ES Supreme guitar, which Bonamassa will sign to help raise funds for the Grammy Museum. Built on Gibson’s iconic ES-335 platform, the ES Supreme features a three-ply maple/poplar/maple body, mahogany neck, ebony fretboard, mother-of-pearl inlays, gold hardware, and Burstbucker Pro pickups.

The fundraising component adds another layer to an evening centered on preservation, legacy, and the future of music. Those themes have long been central to Bonamassa’s work beyond the stage through his Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, which supports music education programs and musicians in need across the country.

At the heart of Blues Summit 100 is a belief that B.B. King’s influence cannot be contained within one genre or generation. From Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton to Kingfish and Marcus King, the album traces the ways King’s phrasing, voice, emotional directness, and singular guitar style continue to reverberate through contemporary music.

The album boasts many incredible collaborations, including Michael McDonald, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks on “To Know You Is To Love You” and Gary Clark Jr. on “Chains And Things.” The centerpiece is a new version of “The Thrill Is Gone” featuring Eric Clapton and Chaka Khan, recorded with real strings and horns in an effort to honor the scale and weight of King’s definitive recording.

B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100 is available now digitally, as a double CD, and as a 180-gram triple LP vinyl edition.

STREAM B.B. KING’S BLUES SUMMIT 100
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SHOP B.B. KING’S BLUES SUMMIT 100
https://joeb.me/OrderBBK

B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100 - Full Tracklist

Disc 1:
1. Paying The Cost To Be The Boss feat. Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
2. Don’t Answer The Door feat. Marcus King
3. To Know You Is To Love You feat. Michael McDonald, Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks
4. Let The Good Times Roll feat. Kenny Wayne Shepherd & Noah Hunt
5. Sweet Little Angel feat. Buddy Guy
6. When It All Comes Down (I’ll Still Be Around) feat. Larry McCray
7. When Love Comes To Town feat. Slash, Shemekia Copeland & Myles Kennedy
8. The Thrill Is Gone feat. Chaka Khan & Eric Clapton
9. Watch Yourself feat. Jimmie Vaughan
10. Why I Sing The Blues feat. Bobby Rush
11. Sweet Sixteen feat. Jimmy Hall & Larry Carlton
12. Don’t You Want A Man Like Me feat. Larkin Poe
13. I’ll Survive feat. Keb’ Mo’
14. Heartbreaker feat. Trombone Shorty & Eric Gales
15. There Must Be A Better World Somewhere feat. George Benson
16. Chains And Things feat. Gary Clark Jr.

Disc 2:
1. How Blue Can You Get feat. Warren Haynes
2. You Upset Me Baby feat. Chris Cain
3. Ghetto Woman feat. Ivan Neville
4. Night Life feat. Paul Rodgers
5. Ain’t Nobody Home feat. Jade MacRae & Robben Ford
6. Bad Case Of Love feat. Joanne Shaw Taylor
7. Never Make A Move Too Soon feat. Dion
8. Three O’Clock Blues feat. Marc Broussard
9. Think It Over feat. Train & Chris Buck
10. It’s My Own Fault feat. Kim Wilson
11. Every Day I Have The Blues feat. D.K. Harrell
12. Please Accept My Love feat. John Nemeth
13. So Excited feat. Aloe Blacc
14. When My Heart Beats Like A Hammer feat. Dannielle De Andrea
15. Playin’ With My Friends
16. Better Not Look Down feat. Kirk Fletcher

ABOUT JOE BONAMASSA
Blues-rock superstar Joe Bonamassa is one of the most celebrated performing musicians of his generation. A five-time Grammy^®-nominated artist and 15-time Blues Music Award nominee, with four wins, he recently earned his record-extending 31st No. 1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart with The Spirit Of Rory Live From Cork. Earlier in 2026, B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100 became his landmark 30th No. 1. With more than 50 releases spanning studio and live recordings, Bonamassa has built one of modern blues’ most expansive catalogs.

Beyond performing, Bonamassa plays a central role in today’s blues landscape as a producer, curator, label head, and advocate. Working closely with Josh Smith, he has produced acclaimed albums for artists including Joanne Shaw Taylor, Marc Broussard, Larry McCray, Jimmy Hall, and others through Journeyman Records and KTBA Records. He also curates sold-out destination events including Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea and Sound Wave Beach Weekend.

Through the Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Bonamassa has helped fund more than 800 music education projects impacting well over 130,000 students nationwide while supporting working musicians and music programs in need.

For more information, visit www.jbonamassa.com.

ABOUT THE GRAMMY MUSEUM

The Grammy Museum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating and exploring music from yesterday and today to inspire the music of tomorrow through exhibits, education, grants, preservation initiatives, and public programming. Paying tribute to our collective musical heritage, the Museum values and celebrates the dynamic connection in people’s diverse backgrounds and music’s many genres, telling stories that inspire us, and creative expression that leads change in our industry.

For more information, visit www.grammymuseum.org, “like” the Grammy Museum on Facebook, and follow @GrammyMuseum on Instagram and TikTok.



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